
Glass L]$~3 ?;/i 
3 



- 

■ 





djool &rdntecture 



Containing; 

Articles attU Sllu^tratfotrs on 
g>d)O0l ^tount% louses, ®ut-~ 
ImfUrtng*, Seating, ^ettttlattott, 
g>d)00l Becoratum, jPurntture, 
anti fixtures 






prepared b^ #r* p, g>tjatofeeE 

£>tate SmpermtenDent of Spools 

Cljarletfton, 1910. 

V J 






^ 






THE NEWS-MAIL CO., CHARLESTON, W. VA. 



FEB 18 



Boards op Education of 

The State of West Virginia. 
Gentlemen : — 

Lid you ever think what an important place you occupy in our 
educational system? Judged from the salary you receive and the 
number of days you serve each year, your office does not seem very 
important, but when measured by the powers and opportunities 
given you, your position is one of the most powerful in the state. 
Legislators may make laws requiring adequate school houses to be 
huilt, and kept sanitary and comfortable; educators may go about 
the state and deliver fine speeches about modern buildings, grounds 
and equipment, and their influence upon the health and character 
of the children; teachers and instructors may meet in institutes 
.and pass resolutions in favor of modern conveniences 
and higher salaries ; progressive citizens may ask for the best school 
advantages for their children ; but what does all this amount to 
when weighed against the brief orders placed upon the record 
book of a Board of Education? That record of business determines 
just how much money is available and how it shall be spent. You 
hold the purse strings of the state and thereby determine the time 
to which progress in school matters shall march. Occasionally we 
find a Board of Education that seems to say by its opposition to 
progressive movements, "West Virginia to the rear;" others, by 
their opposition to all things new, give their order, "At rest;" 
while many, in spite of the fire of opposition and criticism, ring 
•out the command, "Forward, march, West Virginia must have bet- 
ter school houses, better teachers and a more efficient citizenship." 
As a rule, the school officers of this state are honestly carrying out 
the law as they understand it, and this book is put into your hands 
with the hope that it will give you a keener appreciation of the 
full meaning of the obligations placed upon you by the law under 
which you serve. 

School architecture is an art. Too often we make the mistake of 
supposing that any architect or carpenter is able to devise a suit- 
able home for a school and all its activities. Many times our ar- 
chitects plan school buildings by taking into consideration pro- 
portions, gables, architectural effects, lumber, brick and stone, and 



School Architecture. 



either forget or fail to understand the children and their work — ■ 
the very things for which the house should be erected. Those with 
professional knowledge concerning the requirements for a modern 
school house should prescribe the general standards, and from these 
let architects determine the other features of school buildings. In 
this book will be found the principal requirements for school ar- 
chitecture gathered from reliable sources. It is not desired that 
boards of education will follow these plans in every detail, but it is 
fully expected that they will build according to prescribed stan- 
dards. The county superintendent should not agree to plans that 
break the well-established laws of school architecture. Some sug- 
gestions found in this publication will seem like dreams to school 
officers in regions where public money is scarce, but such officers 
should take courage, for the time is near at hand when all dis- 
tricts of West Virginia must, by some means or other, have suffi- 
cient funds to make school advantages approximately equal 
throughout the state. 

We take this means of thanking the architects and business firms 
for many of the plates used. While we wish to call attention to 
this material, we wish it understood that no discrimination for or 
against any reliable firm with which school officers desire to deal 
is intended. 

With the hope that school officers may read these pages 
and examine the pictures carefully, and derive therefrom practical 
help for practical problems and inspiration to tackle bigger things 
in the future, I am 

Very truly, 




School Architecture. 



THREE GENERATIONS OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 

Many suggestions and rules set forth in this book may have a 
tendency to discourage some boards of education and teachers who 
are unable to comply with them. For this reason, this article with 
its pictures showing what a wonderful transformation has come 
about in school architecture in West Virginia is placed first. School 
officers and teachers have every reason to be proud of the progress 
we are making, and should give our state due credit for what has 
been accomplished, yet any halt at this stage would be a great mis- 
take. The editor of The School Exchange of Newark, N. J., recently 
said, "Probably no other State in the Union has shown so com- 
plete transformation in its school architecture in so short a time 
as "West Virginia." 

Many years ago Whittier sang; 

"Still sits the schoolhouse by the road, 

A ragged beggar sunning; 

Around it still the sumachs grow, 

And blackberry vines are running." 
Although we still have entirely too many dilapidated old, beg- 
garly, box-schoolhouses, with doors battered almost to destruction, 
windows small and broken, general appearance ragged, yards cov- 
ered with a few abused bushes, weeds and "blackberry vines," 
they are marked for removal just as soon as financial conditions 
will permit. The "beggars," for the most part have given way to 
a better type. A brief review of the evolution of our school build- 
ings should give us intelligent cause for pride and courage for fur- 
ther efforts in this direction. 

The First Generation — The Log Schoolhouse. 

It is not possible to obtain an accurate picture of the earliest 
pioneer building, but from history we know it was a very crude log 
structure, generally with but one or two windows, and they made 
of greased paper, rather than glass, with puncheon floors and desks, 
and a crude log fire-place in one end of the building. The modesty 
of this pioneer educational institution, however, is not to be de- 
spised, for a stalwart commonwealth now points with the greatest 
pride to the warriors, statesmen, poets, and philosophers whose 
early education, and is some cases whose entire education, was re- 
ceived in these humble schools. The development of a country, 



School Architecture. 



true to the laws of nature, follows the line of least resistance and 
as a consequence we find West Virginia, though early explored, ly- 
ing undeveloped for nearly a century while the great rush of rail- 
road building and agricultural development was going on in the 
Mississippi Valley. "When the system of travel and transportation 
changed from the stage-coach to the steam railway, the numerous 
colonies and communities among the mountains of West Virginia 
were left to themselves and for a half a century the resources of 
the State were unknown to the commercial world. As railroad de- 




A Pioneer. 



velopment continued, however, and the country began to pay more 
attention to commercial industries, investigation began in this 
State, in nearly all instances to reward the investigators with re- 
sources beyond their most sanguine dreams. With this commercial 
awakening came the opportunity which the hardy pioneers had 
waited for through the years, and with the improved means at their 
command they soon began the construction of a better type of 
school buildings. The story of the development is well indicated 
by the history of the log school house. In 1890, for instance, there 



School Architecture. 



were 1,007 such buildings out of a total number of 4,814 school 
buildings in West Virginia. In 1900 the total number of school 
houses in the State had increased from 4,814 to 5,916 but the num- 
ber of log houses had decreased from 1,007 to 345. For this year 
just ending the number of school houses in this State is a little 
over 7,000 and there remains something like a score only of the 
ragged old log house pioneers, grim reminders of a day and con- 
dition forever past in West Virginia. 

The Second Generation — The Box Style of Architecture. 




"A Ragged Beggar Sunning. 



This log school-house, this grandfather, this pioneer, rough and 
ready, and harmonious with the home and life of the early settler, 
passed away and in its stead came the more pretentious box-shaped 
frame building which still remains in many communities. Break- 
ing most of the laws of architecture, beauty, heating, lighting, ven- 
tilation, and sanitation, this style of building served a generation 



School Architecture. 



and has to its credit much good work. However, the life and en- 
vironment compatible with such school homes have disappeared, 
and such a schoolhouse (we have hundreds of them) and surround- 
ings stand as convincing evidence that education in some commun- 
ities has not kept pace with progress. People seem quite ready to 
abandon old styles in dress; they readily substitute the new and 
more useful tools for those out of date— the improved drill for the 
old harrow, the reaper for the sickle, the steam thresher for the 
windmill — but in many sections they have allowed the old-fashion- 
ed schoolhouse to remain long after all its companions disappeared. 

For a dozen or more years the educators of the State have been 
hammering away at the question of architecture, heating, lighting 
and ventilating, especially in the County Institutes where all the 
teachers of the county assemble. As a consequence a more intelli- 
gent and wholesome sentiment on that question has been developed 
and there is now more condemnation for that style of structure in 
most counties of the State than there was for its predecessor, the 
old log house. 

Along with this sentiment-making process came a bit of legisla- 
tion on the subject which as now revised reads as follows: 

"In the construction of school houses the board of education of 
each district shall have regard to economy, convenience and dura- 
bility of structure and the health and comfort of pupils, and no 
such school house shall be constructed until the location and plans 
thereof have first been approved by the county superintendent, 
and in the event the board of education cannot agree upon plans or 
location, the county superintendent shall select the plans and loca- 
tion for such house." 

This legislation backed by professionally inclined county super- 
intendents and a rapidly improving public sentiment is doing much 
to remove this second generation of school houses. The store-box 
type must go. 

The Third Generation — The Useful- Attractive Type. 

With the development of the rich resources of our state came 
much wealth and with the wealth came a desire for higher living. 
The same sentiment that built the new home and bought the new 
furniture is demanding new, beautiful, and well-furnished school 
buildings for the children who come from these attractive homes. 

Citizens who a few years ago dubbed libraries, slate blackboards, 



School Architecture. 



ventilating systems, cloak rooms, and storm porches as "new-fan- 
gled frills" now look upon these things as necessities. The keener 
business men of the state are learning that it "pays to advertise" 
their communities and that a commodious, beautiful school house 
set on a large, well-kept lot is the neighborhood's best advertiser. 
The parents are beginning to realize that children are much influ- 
enced by their school surroundings — that decent outbuildings and 
school rooms are conducive to decent habits, that beauty of en- 
vironment begets beauty of life. 




51DTS ELFVATlO/3, KEKMAJSM K."R^TT:Z, ATECJrl . 

A Modern School House. 

The growing sentiment for better school architecture is well in- 
dicated by the increase in the number of brick school buildings. 
In 1890 there were 127 brick school houses in the state; in 1900, 
184; in 1910, at least 300. "When we take into consideration the 
fact that "West Virginia has no large cities, this, is a good showing. 

Members of boards of education, county superintendents, teach- 
ers and citizens should look over these pictures and see what gener- 
ation of school architecture is best represented in their respective 
communities. If you have not the best, stir up your patriotism, 
and begin with one accord a campaign for better public school 
property. 



10 School Architecture. 



''BEFORE" AND "AFTER." 

Patent medicine firms are fond of showing the appearance of 
their patients "before" and "after" taking. Indeed pictures do 
much to convince us along many lines as they speak their message 
with a flash. The following contrasts strikingly show several 
grades of school buildings "before" and "after" taking modern 
architectural ideas. 

The old log house of Pocahontas County is worthy careful exam- 
ination. The firmness of the foundation, the neatness displayed in 
the chinks, in the gable, on the corners and roof, indicate a taste 
that the new building has inherited in large measure. "With all its 
good qualities, the sturdy old house looks as "a thing apart" with 
no natural connection with life. The hole in the door says that 
the boys considered the building an enemy rather than a friend. 

Many men are ever ready to point out the fact that great schol- 
ars and statesmen come from log houses and log schoolhouses. With- 
out thinking, they claim this as an argument in favor of these con- 
ditions. Did you ever hear of these great products of such envir- 
onment saying, "My greatness is easily explained, I had the ad- 
vantage of going to an old fashioned school, in a log house"? No, 
this is not the explanation given by them and their admirers. We 
always credit them w T ith the ability to succeed in spite of the lack 
of proper school advantages, and little note the thousands who stop 
far short of their possibilities because of no proper incentive to 
push ahead. Geniuses can do unusual things and often break down 
all barriers between them and success, but we can ill afford to ex- 
pect so much of the average child. Be he a mediocre or a budding 
genius, he is safer with conditions that coax the natural powers 
to proper growth. 

The next picture shows the neat, artistic building which took the 
place of the one described above. From foundation to bell-tower, 
all is neat and substantial. For two small windows we find four 
large, plain ones; for the chinks and mud mortar, the weather- 
boarding and paint ; for the exposed puncheon door, a protected en- 
trance with neat door and transom ; for lack of room and ugliness, 
we find comfortableness and beauty. With surroundings like these 
supplemented with good teachers the young mountaineers of Poca- 
hontas should grow as tall and straight as the trees by the build- 
ing. 



School Architecture. 



11 




Seebert Before Improvement. 




Seebert After Improvement. 



12 



School Architecture. 



The next group of buildings is used to show "before" and 
"after" consolidation. The Wolf Run School (log house) and the 
Hoffman School (picture below on the right) of Barker District, 
Barbour County, were consolidated in 1909. The roomy, attract- 
ive, two -room building shown in the picture was the result. Coun- 
ty Superintendent A. F. Shroyer deserves much credit for this and 
similar movements in his county. 




Wolf Run School. 



Hoffman School. 




New Consolidated School Which Takes the Place of 
the Ones Above. 



These buildings stand for another idea worth mentioning here. 
They represent the "give-and-take" tolerant spirit between two 



School Architecture. 13 

communities which is so necessary to the successful working out of 
large school questions. Each neighborhood naturally wished to 
retain its own school or have the new one in its place, but like good 
citizens, they ignored personal preference and agreed to a location 
best suited to the largest number. 

Consolidation of schools is neither possible nor desirable in many 
parts of West Virginia, but there are scores of places in this state 
where consolidation would greatly improve the schools. "Where it 
has been tried, some or all of the following advantages have been 
secured : 

1. Better buildings and furniture. 

2. Better attendance. 

3. More systematic grading. 

4. More efficient supervision. 

5. Higher quality of teaching. 

6. Better health among pupils. 

7. More community school spirit. 

8. Greater incentives to reach high school work. 

9. Less total running expense. 

10. Stronger demand for good roads. 

The improvement in the town and village schools is even more 
marked than that in the rural schools. The pictures chosen to 
represent the old and the new tell their own story. No doubt the 
patrons, teachers, and pupils thought the barn-like building shown 
in the first picture was "a thing of beauty and a joy forever" when 
it was built. I imagine some citizens complained of the extrava- 
gance of the board of education for building beyond the needs of 
the time. 

But the progressive people of Williamstown soon out-grew the 
old shell. They grew weary of its staring appearance, its rickety 
steps, scattered chopped-up windows, its meaningless gables, and 
accusing bell-tower. They sought something to show their pros- 
perity, their pride and their faith in schools. The new building 
was the result. 

In 1890 West Virginia had not a single building erected for 
high school purposes exclusively. For this reason most of our high 
school architecture has been good from the start. At the present 
time there are a score or more of towns and cities with commodious 
high school buildings and many others are either erecting new 
ones or planning to do so in the near future. 



14 



School Architecture. 





Tin: Gi.u and the New at Williams rows. 



School Architecture. 



15 




Old High School— Wheeling. 




New High School — Wheeling. 



The "old" and the "new" in Wheeling shows the same forward 
movement from the make-shift to the school building erected for 
a purpose. The new building at "Wheeling is one of the finest in 
the South. It costs the city $225,000 and will pay large dividends. 



16 



School Architecture. 




Courtesy Ohio Agricultural College. 
What Can Be Done Here? 



CARE AND IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOL PROPERTY. 
In many sections of our state boards of education have much rea- 
son for a lack of pride in providing attractive school property, 
for many teachers fail to give such property careful protection. 
Too often new, well-painted school houses soon show the marks of 
lead pencils, chalk, knives, and mud. Sometimes a careless janitor 

or pupil thoughtlessly damages 
the appearance of the building 
by sweeping in a way that 
throws muddy water against the 
weather boarding about the 
door ; sometimes muddy balls are 
bounced against a white gable 
until it is as spotted as 
a leopard. New locks are 
broken; window lights and shades are neglected; newly var- 
nished seats are carved by the jack-knife; dictionaries are torn 
up, and library books lost; charts and other apparatus are left to 
the dominion of the dust. This is not the rule, but is too true for 
a number of our schools. Boards of education should call atten- 
tion of the teacher to these matters and teachers in turn should 
take much pride in preserving in good order the property entrusted 
to their care. 

Indeed more than mere preservation is required of teachers — 
they should in many respects improve the school outfit. Plenty 
of hot water and washing powd- 
der will remove many ugly 
spots. A well organized 
"Clean-up Band" will make the 
school yard shine in a few noon 
periods. The writer knew one 
energetic rural teacher who 
planed from the old desks the 
dirt and carvings and bright- 
ened them up with a few cents 
worth of paint. 

We use many fine phrases about patriotism, but fail to make the 
children understand that Uncle Sam is represented just as much 
by public property as he is by flags and band music. F^om both 
the standpoint of economy and good teaching, it is incumbent upon 
those in charge of school buildings and school children not only to 
preserve but to improve what the public has provided. 




Courtesy O. J. Kern. 
It Needs the Doctor. 



School Architecture. 



Yi 




Courtesy Supt Edward Hyatt, Cal. 
Before Improvement. 

"Isn't this desolation and hopelessness? Look at the closets! What kind of 
children would you expect to raise in such a place as this?" 




Courtesy Supt. Edward Hyatt, Cal. 
After Improvement. 



'This is the same schoolhouse, but has been born again. 



18 



School Architecture. 



However, all the blame and responsibility must not fall upon 
teachers, who many times wish to improve the condition of school 
property, but are handicapped for want of a small appropriation. 
When the meagerness of the salary and the multitudinous duties of 
the common school teacher are considered, we do not wonder that 
they refuse to spend extra time and money to do just w T hat should 
be done by boards of education by direct order. 

Besides the annual inspection and overhauling of school houses, 
there should be occasional visits for the purpose of taking stock of 
school conditions. To allow a window shade to go to ruin for 
want of an opportune tack; to allow the stove and plastering to 
be ruined for want of a few shingles placed in the right way at the 
right time ; to allow property to rust out and rot out for want of 
care — this, all this, is poor economy. In this connection, boards of 
education should remember that a district superintendent is the 
ideal officer to act as property manager for the Board. 

Let us, in the name of good business, in the name of our state 
pride, in the name and for the good of West Virginia's best crop 
- — our boys and girls — preserve and improve what school property 
we have and plan to build better in the future. 




School Architecture. 



19 



REMODELING SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 

There are many well-built, old-fashioned school buildings which 
can be remodeled and made more useful and attractive at small 
cost. Boards of education that do not have sufficient funds for 
building new houses should seek ways of bringing buildings al- 
ready constructed up-to-date. This is being done in many places 
in West Virginia, especially in small towns. Cuts of such improve- 
ments could not be secured, hence we present suggestions for re- 
modeling obtained through the kindness of the State Superinten- 
dent of California. 




JOLON SCHOOL REMODELED. 



The first plate (Jolon School) shows the floor plan of an old 
style, cne-room building with windows on both sides. Below it is 
shov.n the same building with a new porch added, a small library 
room partitioned off, and the doors and windows rearranged. But 
few of our one-room buildings are large enough to allow partitions, 
but many of them can be much improved by adding a substantial 
porch where the children may step outside the school room without 
being in the storm. 



20 



School Architecture. 



Te.aC.hzT 



* JoZon School, b*. fore, rem ocle.(i'iij 



fJeLon . oafiooL cxf-t-t.-i' rem o c7 e I t»t q 



L/8V4«y 




./re. u> T\-rti~t''o"~ 

CLASS 'Room 



/rciu liter- 



?ra«t ««' J Ki^dawi ** 



NewPoRch 






Courtesy Supt. Edward IIya.lt, California. 

The above cuts are self-explanatory, showing in detail what can be accomplished 
by a little expense and ingenuity. 



School Architecture. 



21 








a. 
o 

CD 






PtAM O F OKDiM^s P* *Y ONE 
ROOM SCHOOL BUILDlMG 



J.H Feut^rcmitec- 

KAN5ASC ITY 




S/^ME PU-zAtS REMODELED, 
Corutdii 8upt. Howard A. Oajs, Missouri. 



In many places the window spaces on the right of pupils can be 
closed and weatherboarded, and some extra windows placed on the 
left side with about two half windows placed high in the rear end 
of the building. Painting outside and in, and new furnishings are 
always in order. This repairing will cost some money, but if a 
reasonable expenditure will make old buildings ''as good as new" 
school officers should feel satisfied. 

The two floor plans on this page show the kind of remodeling 
that is being done in Missouri. The old, poorly planned building 
was turned around and greatly improved in appearance and use- 
fulness by adding addition in front. More complete directions con- 
cerning windows, stoves, decorations, etc., will be found in other 
articles. 



22 



School Architecture. 




Courtesy Supt. Howard A. Gass, Missouri. 

An ordinary school house of the older type — windows all around at regular 
intervals. 




Courtesy Supt. Howard A. Gass, Missouri. 



Same ouildiug remodeled, with windows banked on one side. See floor plans on 
another page, showing detailed changes. 



School Architecture. 23 

CHOOSING A SITE. 

The Laiv. Sec. 13 of the School Law says, "The board of educa- 
tion of every district shall provide by purchase, condemnation, 
leasing, building or otherwise, suitable school houses, and grounds 
in their districts, in such locations as will best accommodate the pu- 
pils thereof." Sec. 14 states, "No school house shall be constructed 
until the location and plan thereof have first been approved by 
the county superintendent, and in the event the board of education 
cannot agree upon plans or location, the county superintendent 
shall select the plans and location for such house." 

Consideration for Community. Those who select sites should 
note that the law says, ' ' suitable ' ' site that ' ' will best accommodate 
the pupils" of the district. In the spirit of this law the first thing 
to consider is the approximate center of the school population. 
Many times influential citizens or special interests use their influ- 
ence to take the school far from its natural location for selfish or 
business interests. Those to whom the people intrust their rights 
should be courageous and absolutely impartial in determining the 
location of a school building. It often happens that the topog- 
raphy of the land or the distribution of the population would make 
it advisable to determine upon a location some distance from the 
geographical center of the district. However, the probability of 
future development should be taken into consideration. If a choice 
must be made between a small amount of convenience of some 
pupils and an opportunity to secure a large, suitable lot, the latter 
should rule. It often happens in towns and cities that in order to 
secure a place quiet and roomy a site far from the center of popu- 
lation should be chosen. The school deserves the choicest location 
in the community. 

Size. We hear on every side words of condemnation for the 
small, unsightly lots surrounding our rural schools, yet mr.ny new 
school houses are being built on lots that will seem just as inade- 
quate to those who live a quarter of a century from now. Some 
boards of education that have sufficient of the people 's money, pur- 
chase for a rural school a little, irregular, stony lot from on3-eighth 
to one-fourth acre in size. Such purchases are a very poor use of 
public money, in spite of the fact that some unthinking tax-payers 
will praise the board for its economy. Before the location is made, 
land can be bought or condemned at reasonable rates, but when 



24 



School Architecture. 



the house is built it takes much money to push back the school lot's 
boundary lines. Some time in the future our rural schools Avill 
be in session nine months and school gardens and simple experi- 
ments in agriculture will be in demand. When such time comes, 
imagine how we shall bewail the shortsightedness of school officers 
who think that room for eave projection and foot paths around a 
school house is about all the ground necessary! 



L. 













To be more definite, a rural school should have at least one 
acre of smooth, tillable land. Two acres make a much better lot. 
When two acres can be secured, the building should occupy the 
center of the front acre. This will leave a grassy lawn in front 
for trees, shrubbery and flowers. The acre to the rear will provide 
sufficient room for playgrounds so necessary to any good school. 
Authorities agree that in towns or cities all school lots should be 
large enough to afford thirty square feet of ground for each pupil 
in school. 

Soil and Exposure. It is a well recognized rule that clay and 
loam are not suitable soils for building sites as they (especially the 
clay) retain too much moisture. Although the parable tells of a 
wise man that builded his house upon a rock, that practice is not 
always wise as many solid-rock locations have such strata and 
drainage as to hold dampness and cause an unusual amount of 
water to appear during wet weather. However, when other consid- 
erations make it desirable to build on such soil, good conditions 



School Architecture. 25 

can be secured by proper drainage. Gravel and sandy soils are 
best suited for school houses as they allow even distribution and 
quick disappearance of moisture. "Filled in" soil, especially ar- 
tificial soil containing any decaying matter should be avoided. If 
possible the lot should be in an open, airy place with a southern 
exposure. Plenty of sunshine is a very essential consideration in 
•determining the location of a school. 

Surroundings. Many school houses in "West Virginia are nearby 
mills, factories, mines, railroad sidings, street car lines, pumping 
•stations, et cetera, These annoyances make normal, quiet school 
work impossible. They injure the hearing, the nervous system and 
the general health of the teacher and pupils. Such locations do 
much to waste the money appropriated for school purposes. While 
trees are much recommended for school yards, too many of them 
near the building work injury by retaining too much dampness and 
shutting out too much light and sunshine. Hills, however beau- 
tiful, should not crowd too close to the school windows and thus 
shut off the light and view. Let there be light, sunshine, and quiet 
in and about our school buildings. 

TYPES OF RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 

Some General Standards. 

These topics are well discussed in some of the other articles of 
this book, but are placed here in outline form to call attention to 
them in connection with the plans for buildings. These require- 
ments are generally accepted as standard by those who have made 
'Careful study of school architecture and economy. 

Size. Floor space should be sufficient to provide at least 15 sq. 
ft. of floor space for each student and length and breadth should 
he in about the proportion of 32 ft. to 24 ft. No room should be 
more than 32 ft. long and 26 ft. wide. The height should be suf- 
ficient to allow each pupil about 200 cu. ft. of air volume. That 
would require a height of about 13 ft., although a very slight re- 
duction of this is permissible in some types of buildings. 

Floors. Maple in widths not to exceed 3 in. makes the best wood 
floor. Deadening material of some kind should be used. Some 
good authorities recommend very coarse cheap cement a few inches 
thick as a cheap deadening material. It can be put between joists 
on a rough false floor made from waste lumber. Floors should be 



26 School Architecture. 



blind nailed and free from cracks or flaws. There should be no el- 
evated platform in the school room. 

Walls. There should be wainscoating of tile, hardwood, or hard 
plaster thoroughly painted in darker color than the rest of the wall. 
Plaster, painted and stippled to prevent a glaring light, makes a 
satisfactory wall. If wood is used, the boards should be very closely 
fitted to prevent accumulation of dust. (See other articles for com- 
plete directions for color of walls). Picture moulding in harmony 
with rest of woodwork should extend around the room. 

Windows. The window space should equal one-fifth to one- 
fourth floor space. The bi-lateral arrangement, that is, windows- 
banked on the left with a few smaller ones placed higher in the 
rear will be considered the rule in West Virginia. Windows on 
one side only is advocated by many, but there is danger that this 
arrangement will not give sufficient light. The windows in the 
rear can be covered by shades except on dark days or under con- 
ditions demanding the light they afford. This will prevent cross- 
shadows and injury to the teacher's eyes. The bottom of the win- 
dows should be level with the pupils' eyes, 3 to 4 ft. high general- 
ly, and the top should reach near the ceiling. Pupils in all parts- 
of the room should be able to see a large area of the sky. The win- 
dows should be plain, not having more than two glasses in each 
sash, and should never be curved at top as this cuts off some light 
and makes mending difficult. 

A good authority says, ' ' The best light for a school room is north ; 
next best northeast; then south, then east, and lastly west." 

Window Shades. The shades should harmonize with the color of 
the wall. A soft green is a good color. There are several ways of 
fastening shades. 

(1) The most common and poorest plan is to fasten them at the 
top of the window, thus making it impossible to shut off a glare of 
light at bottom of window without pulling the shade over the 
whole window. 

(2) The use of two shades fastened in the middle of each win- 
dow is highly recommended. This makes it possible to cover or ex- 
pose the upper or lower part at pleasure. 

(3) The shade may be fastened at bottom and run upward by 
using the cord over a small spool or pulley at top of window. This' 
is a good plan as it provides for cutting off the direct light at bot- 
tom and exposing the sky through the upper part of window. 



School Architecture. 



27 



(4) The best method of ad- l ^m^g^ &&m 
justing shades to suit all con- 
ditions is shown in the accom- 
panying cut. This simple ad- 
juster allows the whole shade 
to be pulled up or down at 
will. By this ingenious con- 
trivance any portion of the 
window can be shaded without 
obstructing the light above 
and below. 

Blackboards. Blackboard 

should extend along side and 
end not occupied by windows. 
It should be placed low enough 
to be easily used by pupils (2 
or 2y 2 ft. above floor accord- 
ing to grade of pupils, top 
never more than 6y 2 ft. above „ . „ w .. , „ "" 

' * Courtesy Van Bolt & Co. 

floor). Natural slate is the 

best material, though dull Window Shade Adjuster. 
black finish pulp is good and much cheaper. Blackboard with 
shining surface should not be used. A chalk trough open at the 
ends and covered with hinged wire netting should be placed 
below blackboards. 




ONE ROOM SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 



The first three plans of one-room buildings are taken from a 
pamphlet on school buildings by the Smith System Heating Com- 
pany, Indianapolis, Ind. If the boards of education wish to use 
this system of heating, the company will furnish free of charge 
large blue-prints of the plans selected with complete details and 
specifications. If the heating system is not desired, the plans and 
specifications will be furnished at a small price. As a general rule, 
stock plans should not be used, for they do not provide for peculiar 
local conditions and the individuality which school buildings should 
possess. However, in some cases, boards may be able to economize 
by purchasing such a plan and adapting it to their needs. 



28 



School Architecture. 



Plan No. 1. 




FRONT ELEVATION. 




Teachers 

desk- 



School Room 



£1 



xfSYsrenr 



FLOOR PLAN. 

This is a very simple inexpensive plan suitable for an ordinary 
rural school where funds are not available for a more elaborate 
building. Separate cloak rooms for boys and girls are provided 
and so arranged that pupils pass through the cloak rooms when en- 
tering. "Where buildings have no water system, the room marked 



School Architecture. 



29 



"closet" can be included in a small library room, or a main en- 
trance can be substituted for the place marked "cupboard" and 
"book-case." 

Plan No. 2. 

This plan speaks for itself. The time has come for the country 
schools to break away from the one-room tradition and add some 
conveniences that the town and city schools have had for many 
years. A neatly furnished library room with a case or two of good 
books is a profitable investment which every community should 
possess. The room marked for fuel can be used for a shop for 
manual training. "What district or county will have the honor to 
lead in providing for some manual training in rural schools? A 




FRONT ELEVATION. 



room like this can be supplied at small expense with a work-bench 
and a few tools. Indeed there are but few neighborhoods in West 
Virginia that would not make or donate this material if the teach- 
er or some other leader would explain the usefulness of this kind 
of work. Such work is worth all it costs in the training it gives the 



30 



School Architecture. 



pupils and if properly directed will return to the school and neigh- 
borhod material equal in value to the amount expended for this 
purpose. The pupils can make desks, shelves, mathematical blocks, 
picture frames, et cetera, for use in the school or home, and who 
will deny that such work affords better education than much of the 
meaningless drill given on topics that bear no relation to country 
life ? If a board of education has not sufficient funds for providing 
these extra rooms, they can be left out of this plan without injury. 




FLOOR PLAN X)F NO. 2. 

Especial attention should be called to the appearance of this 
school building as shown in the front elevation. In the first place, 
its well-balanced, substantial appearance attracts notice. The med- 
ium pitch of the roof is a great improvement on the steep stock ap- 
pearance of most of our typical school buildings. The broad eaves, 
the neatly finished cornice work, the well-protected corners and 
door-ways, are worthy of the consideration of boards of education. 



School Architecture. 



31 



Plan No. 3. 

This plan shows the plan of a more expensive building than 1 
and 2, but when we consider the fact that the same foundation and 
roof are required for all buildings of the same size, we will see 
that it is good economy to add modern conveniences, as such ad- 
ditions increase but little the total cost. Many new school buildings 
in West Virginia provide but one cloak room. Besides being a 
source of disorder, this arrangement does not give privacy to girl 




FRONT ELEVATION. 

students which the best training requires. As suggested in Plan No. 
2, the room marked "fuel room" may be used for laboratory work 
or manual training. 

Especial attention is called to the well-proportioned, roomy 
porch. A porch of this width and length seems to be a natural 
part of the building to which it belongs, while the small store-box 
porches tacked to many of our school buildings seem to hold their 
places under protest. If the funds of the district will not justify a 



32 



School Architecture. 



board of education in carrying out this complete plan, the extra 
rooms in front may be started and cloak rooms provided in the 
wings of the porch. This will necessitate changing the entrance to 
the center. 




FLOOR PLAN OF NO. 3. 

This plan differs from the others by providing for bi-lateral light- 
ing, that is, windows on two sides. Many object to windows in the 
rear, claiming that they make cross shadows on the pupils' work 
and injure the eyes of the teacher who must face them. These ob- 
jections can be overcome by a proper adjustment of the window 
shades. 



School Architecture. 



33 



Plan No. 4. 




Coiirtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 

This is an ideal one room building, complete with one room^ 
heating and ventilating apparatus, as successfully used at Perry 
Hollow, Lambert's Run, Garretts Run, "W. Va., etc. The windows 
are grouped, a library and storage room are supplied, and the ex- 



terior design lifts the building from the commonplace, making it an 
ornament to any village or farming district. "While the porch can 
be eliminated without seriously affecting the plan, it is not to be rec- 
ommended, as the shelter provided is a convenience to early arrivals 
in inclement weather. Large and well placed black-board space is 
provided. 

A building like this one may seem expensive, but when its dura- 
bility, convenience and influence are considered, it gives more for 
each dollar invested than does a cheap, unattractive, uncomfort- 
able house. The beauty and comfortableness of such a school home 
will cause better attendance on the part of the pupils and better 
wo] k on the part of the teacher. A farmer, carpenter, clerk, or any 
other workman cannot do a good day's work without proper 
tools and equipment. The same is true of pupils and teachers. 
Lack of proper light, heat, desks, blackboard, and equipment will 
make the most effective work impossible. However, the chance to do 
more work which such a building affords, is not the chief reason for 
its construction. The influence it has upon the habits and character 
of the pupils is well worth the extra money expended. In many 
communities the boys and girls look upon the school building as a 
dingy prison and they take as much delight in abusing it with 
knives, chalk and mud balls, as they would in hurting an enemy. 
When the tax payers prove their faith in boys and girls by provid- 
ing so liberally for them, the pupils are sure, under the guidance of 
a sensible teacher, to look with disapproval upon any careless one 
who abuses the school house, the pride of the school. 

Most crimes are committed in dark and dirty places; filthy 
habits are natural in filthy places. People do not clean the mud 
from their shoes when entering a muddy street or an unkept barn. 
They do not feel at ease with soiled clothes or rude habits in a fine 
church or home. Neither do boys and girls have any inclination to 
be neat in appearance when they must step directly from the road 
into a school room that is as dirty as the road. The outside beauty, 
the walk, the porch, the vestibule and the final cosy class room of 
the house pictured under No. 4 will invite cleanliness and neatness. 
Such habits will be so deeply impressed during school years that 
they will be carried through life. How important then it is to cast 
such uplifting influences about the youth of the country while their 
minds and souls are sensitive alike to good and bad impressions. 
Such a building and grounds stand as constant reminders of the 
business judgment, the belief in schools, the neighborhood pride, 
and the liberality of the communities which provide them. Let 
us have more of them in West Virginia. 



School Architecture. 



35 



Plan No. 5. 




This simple plan is submitted for the consideration of boards of 
education who wish to provide modern conveniences with as little 
cost as possible. It presents one important feature that should be 
much used in school houses, viz., straight lines and plain corners. 
The small room on the front where steps are indicated may be used 
as a kind of porch or vestibule, and the rest of the extra room on 
side may be used for cloak room and library or supply room. A 
porch in front would add much to this building. This plan is 
almost identical with the one used by Supt. Shroyer in giving his 
specifications on another page. 



36 



School Architecture. 



This plan, as will be seen at a glance, is intended for communities 
where water pressure is available. This condition often prevails on 
the outskirts of towns and cities where a one-room school is needed. 
In many places in West Virginia water pressure could be secured 
for homes and schools by utilizing large springs or mountain 
streams that could be piped into the buildings. Under this a small 
cellar, about 6 x 14 feet in size, holds the pressure tank and force 
pump for the water supply. The big boys will take delight in 
pumping up the pressure for each day, — it requires but a few min- 
utes. It is surrounded by a 12-inch concrete wall and has a cement 
floor. The tank has a capacity of about 350 gallons, and is connect- 
ed with a well through underground pipes. 



Plan No. 6. 




MODEL RURAL SCHOOL HOUSE 2d'- J 6' 



Direct sunlight enters the class-room through the entry doors in 
the morning and through the rear ground glass in the afternoon. 
The children face the east with the light from the left. 

The fresh air vent is directly opposite the windows, so that the 
current follows the natural direction across the rooin, down in front 
of the windows and back across the floor to the foul air vent. This 
latter has beep arranged into a small fireplace, where a fire may be 
built on wet, mmky days to draw off the chill and damp and aid 
ventilation. Ordinal y jacketed stove or small furnace may be used 
to heat such a building. 

This modern building cost about $1,400. 



School Architecture. 



37 




DESIGN -for-a -TWO-ROOM 
•SCHOOL -H0V5E- 

This plan provides for a convenient arrangement of hall and cloak 
rooms. The plan for lighting the cloak rooms is worthy of notice. 




A well constructed, well-kept two-room building at Metz, W. Va. As 
will be seen, this building is not constructed according to the floor plan 
above. 



38 



School Architecture. 



TWO ROOM BUILDINGS. 

Two-room buildings present a few new problems which should be 
considered. The community should feel that the school house is 
the center of community interest and for that reason provision 
should be made for handling good-sized audiences, unless the 
neighborhood is otherwise provided with a suitable hall. Plan No. 
2 shows how folding or sliding doors make it possible to throw 
two rooms together when the occasion demands. 

If the building is placed in a growing village or community, the 
plan should provide for the possibility of adding more room. 
Inasmuch as no windows are placed in the rear of Plan No. 1, an 
addition could be made without shutting off any light. The porch 
and some of the partitions shown in No. 1 can be omitted if lack 
of funds or local needs make such change advisable. The general 
class-room standards explained on another page should be adhered 
to in planning two-room buildings. 

Plan No. 1. 




TWO ROOM FRAME SCHOOL BUILDING, DOLA, W. VA., HEPZIBAH, W. VA., 

ST. PAUL, VA., ETC. 

A well-desisn°d lay-out, provided with excellent heating and ventilating ar- 
rangement, rne fresh air being brought from the outside under the floor as in the 
one-room building?. Convenient cloak rooms, library and storage rooms are pro- 
vided. The heat and vent rtncks are used on the exterior to produce a very 
pleasing architectural effect. The gables are shingled and the roofs are of slate. 
The colonial design is appropriate in almost any community. 



School Architecture. 



39 




2r&DOI&- :FRA2Z\3E1 saE-ioor. sxjdg 

Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 
Floor Plan of Building Described on Opposite Page. 




SCHOOL 61D$ 



/iAffSHf/l.tE WVA, 



M+naot* frame. 

SCHOOL, 0X.0i3 




Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 
TWO ROOM FRAME SCHOOL BUILDING, MARSHVILLE, W. VA. 
Designed to meet a peculiar condition, where it was desirable that the rooms 
be thrown togethor when the occasion demanded a large meeting. A very economi- 
cal plan, one flue accommodating the two rooms. The windows are grouped, and 
store room is provided, also large blackboard spaces and folding doors to separate 
the rooms. The bell tower gives a decided school house effect. 



rian No. 3. 




Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 



Tv/o room, brick, stone foundation, fiat built-up composition roof, school building. 
Very complete gravity warm air heating and ventilating plant, girls' and boys' toilets 
in basement, a"d separate play rooms. Basement p^cessible from within and from 
the outside. Octagon school rooms to facilitate heating and ventilating, obviating 
sharp corners in which the air may clog. Modern lighting, six windows placed on 
the left side of school rooms', giving maximum black-board space, and very con- 
veniently arranged cloak rooms. Supply closet for teacher in each room. Hand- 
some, dignified exterior, with brick center feature for bell. 



42 School Architecture. 



THREE AND FOUR ROOM BUILDINGS. 

By reading the requirements for buildings found in other articles 
of this book, those who wish to plan buildings of three or more 
rooms will find sufficient information on most points. No plans for 
three-room buildings are given, as no ideal ones were available at 
the time this pamphlet was being prepared. By adding one stand- 
ard room as a ' ' T " or " L " to one of the plans for two-room build- 
ings, a suitable plan for three rooms can be easily made. In the 
construction of four-room buildings of two stories, a few new prob- 
lems are presented. 

Entrance. "As a rule it may be said that entrances should be 
wide, equipped with two doors, and should lead directly to the stair- 
ways and corridors. Doors should be hung to swing outward and 
should be equipped with latches that are lockable on the outside 
only. The Massachusetts law requires twenty inches of door width 
for every one hundred pupils and not. less than four feet to each 
entrance." A vestibule cut off by double swinging doors, and pro- 
vided with tile or cement floor, will accommodate the pupils who 
chance to arrive ahead of the teacher. Such a vestibule will do 
much to prevent the ' ' tracking in " of mud and snow. 

Stairways. Many architects, school officers and teachers seem 
to disregard the constant danger to pupils, especially girls, in 
climbing steep stairways with narrow tread. Too much stair climb- 
ing is likely to cause permanent injury to girls of high school age, 
hence the building and organization should reduce the danger to 
the minimum. The staircase should be wide — not less than five feet ; 
the tread should be about 13 inches wide; the risers should not be 
more than 6V2 inches in graded schools and 7 inches in high schools. 
The treads should be provided with rubber or metallic safety pads. 
The railing should be very simple and thoroughly substantial, as it 
is constantly subject to some strain. Round oak about 3 inches in 
diameter makes a railing both beautiful and substantial. Long 
flights of stairs should be broken by roomy landings which provide 
for a change of direction or rest. Steep stairways are abominable. 
Wherever possible there should be a stairway on each side of the 
hall and the whole staircase should be fireproof. 

Such buildings need halls wide enough to allow cloak rooms to 
project into the hall, and open above so that the vapor from damp 
clothing will not enter the school room. Little rooms and nooks for 



School Architecture. 43 

no purpose, dark basements, and attics stored with trash should be 
carefully omitted. 




Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 
Fouk Room School Building at Elkhoen, "W. Va. 

A handsome and much complimented four room brick school 
building, designed to show the groups of windows on the main 
front. The corners of these school rooms are clipped to facilitate 
the heating and ventilating. The girls' and boys' toilets are placed 
on the second floor over the hallway. This absolutely precludes any 
possibility of obnoxious odors permeating the building, and does not 
impose excessive stair climbing on the second story pupils, as would 
toilets placed in the basement. This equalizes the distance traversed 
to the toilet rooms, compelling scholars from the first floor to ascend 
one flight of stairs, while those on the second floor, being already 
elevated, find it very convenient. Abundant light is furnished by 
windows grouped at one side of the room, and large black-board 
spaces are provided. In this building a 12-foot gymnasium occu- 
pies the entire basement. 



44 



School Architecture. 







^PW^ 




Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 

Floor Plan of Building at Elkhoen. 
Described on preceding page. 



/ 



C2.W.1S 7?M. 



• — Sv/Asre sfc/cf/fren -7* 



«■ 



> 



fes± 



ZE^ 



0--4SS /PAf. 



}\ 



\ 




"FIRST T'l^OCK. 
^-ROOM-BRICK. SCHOOL BLDG, 

Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 
Floor Plan of Four Room Building at Morgantown. 
Described on opposite page. 



School Architecture. 



45 




Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 
Four Room Building at Morgantown, W. Va. 

Four Booms, Brick. Warm air heating and ventilating. Octa- 
gon class rooms, and group window lighting. One of the principal 
points of advantage in this plan is the heating and ventilating ar- 
rangement, obviating galvanized iron heat flues to the ventilating 
stacks. The excellent ventilation secured by this plan is obtained 
by the aspiration produced by the heat pipes in the vent stacks. 
This successfully draws the foul air from the floor of the school 
room. The heat is introduced 6V2 feet above the floor. The conven- 
ient arrangement of the cloak rooms secures for them excellent ven- 
tilation, also at the same time adding materially to the architec- 
tural effect of the frcnt. 

This building lends itself admirably to the addition of four more 
rooms of like design in the rear, the octagons giving an ideal place 
to attach future building by secluding the joint. The same stair- 
way will answer for the future four rooms. The front is very hand- 
some and distinguished looking. The stone base up to the window 
sills adds materially to the appearance. 

Supplementary exterior treatment is given, showing the slate 
roof, (Tudor-Gothic design), exactly accommodating the same plan. 



46 



School Architecture. 



LARGE SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 

This book is intended primarily for the guidance of boards of 
education in the construction of buildings in the rural districts, 
where but few large buildings are needed. For this reason, no at- 
tempt will be made to give detailed directions and specifications for 
large city buildings. However, by reference to the articles on 
smaller buildings and high schools, those desiring to plan for build- 
ings of eight or more rooms will find standards by which to measure 
their fundamental features. One of the most difficult problems in 




First Ward Building, Elkixs, W. Va. 
A building with fine architectural lines and artistic substantial 

appearance. 

the construction of such buildings is the provision for adequate 
light. An attempt to make such provision has developed the "L," 
the "T," the "U," and the "H" styles. The latter shape is es- 
pecially desirable, as it provides for a great amount of light ex- 
posure. 

Too often school officers and architects, in planning school build- 
ings, plan "from without in" when all school architecture should be 
planned "from within out," that is, the pupil and class room re- 



School Architecture. 



47 



quirements should be units for first consideration. Several West 
Virginia buildings will be shown on the following pages and will 
offer many suggestive features. 




L._ 



An examination of the floor plans of this building which are 
found on the following page will reveal many desirable features. 
As will be seen, the cloak rooms extending into the hall are open 
above, thus permitting the dampness frcm the clothing to escape 
into the hallway. Although the building is quite large, the ar- 
rangement and grouping of windows are such as to give ample 
lighting in all of the rooms and at the same time preserve the laws of 
lighting as to the direction frcm which it comes. Attention should 
be called to the two entrances which makes it possible to empty 
all class rooms in a very short time and without confusion. On 
the second floor is a large itudy hall which can be changed into 
school rooms in case the growth of the school should demand 
such an arrangement. 



48 



School Architecture. 



SC3rtOOY_ :FGK_ 




5FCOKD rUSJR: , 
PLAN. 



^fe6:,.tey 




?iAN. 



safe /6.#* at/nth- 



School Architecture. 



49 




■s w 



5) fa 

s» o 



=8 S 



55 


<r) 




M 


&3 


H 


Si 










ki 


s 


p 


o 




'O 


H 




W 



O 

K 




tti 


a 


o 




ft 
ft 


a 




a 




o 


<i 




W 





M 


a 


£> 


(=4 


PQ 


^ 




o 


H 


o 


■4 


a 




© 




at 


ft 


eu 






P 




h) 








D 




PQ 




J 




o 




o 




W 




u 




02 




fe 




H 




£ 




H 




a 




H 





f)(J 



School Architecture. 




Fleer plan of building on page 49, showing cloak-rooms extending 
into the hall and opening above, thus allowing the dampness from the 
clothing to escape into the hallway. Other desirable features of this plan 
are self-evident. 




Public School, Elm Grove, W. Va. 
This picture is shown to call attention to the artistic front lawn and 
the loomy play-ground in the rear. 



School Architecture. 51 



fek], • -*• b±=\ 




/TV 

Flip! 



i 



Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. 
Academy High School. 
Of this building the architects say: "A schcol building with sixteen 
rooms, having an auditorium on the first floor with balcony opening from 
the seccnd fiocr. The Auditorium complete with dressing rooms, stage, 
exits, overhead light, etc. Semi-fireproof construction. All brick bearing 
partitions, windows grouped for one side lighting, and mechanical sys 
tern cf heating and ventilating. Manual training rooms in the basement. 
Girls' and beys' toilets and gLls' and boys' recreation rooms. This school 
of Tudor-Gothic design lends itself admirably to such a purpose, giving 
the building a decidedly collegiate appearance, while at the same time 
being very economical, net requiring a wealth of trimming to obtain a 
handtcme effect." 



52 



School Architecture. 




Public Schocl, Hixton. W. Va. 




Bigley School, Charleston. W. Va. 



School Architecture. 



53 




McKinley School, Paekeesbueg, W. Va. 
One of the handsomest school buildings in West Virginia. 




Bu'ifF School, Huntington, W. Va. 



54 



School Architecture. 



HIGH SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
Special Features. 

A great many of the high schools of the state have no separate 
building set apart for the high school work. The plan of combin- 
ing grades and high school in one building is quite necessary in 
many communities and in such cases some of the special features 
mentioned below should be provided. Wherever possible a dis- 
tinct building for high school use should be constructed, as this 
will solve many problems of discipline and stand as a constant re- 
minder to the boys and girls that something higher is in reach. 




A Well Arranged 3:udy Hall. 

Assembly Boom. In many of our smaller high schools a preten- 
tious assembly room would be out of place. In such schools, one 
class room may be made larger than the regulation size and used 
as a study hall and assembly room for small audiences. A plan by 
which two rooms can be thrown together as shown in one of the 
two-room plans is still better. Where high schools must be placed 
on sloping ground a part of the basement may be fitted up for a 
light, roomy assembly hall with entrance on lower side of the 



School Architecture. 55 

building. Such an idea is well illustrated in the First Ward build- 
ing in Fairmont. "With a little extra expense on some styles of build- 
ings, a part of the third story may be converted into a good sized 
hall. Cameron and Adamston have such a plan well worked out. 

The above suggestions are made to fit peculiar needs. A quota- 
tion from ''School Architecture", a valuable little book published 
by the American School Board Journal of Milwaukee, well de- 
scribes an ideal assembly hall. 

"The assembly room is intended to accommodate all the pupils 
of the school at one sitting. The consensus of opinion now favors 
the ground floor assembly hall. Several advantages are gained by 
placing the assembly hall on the ground floor. Primarily the hall 
thus placed is safer in case of Are or danger. Light can be had 
from above and from either side wall. Stair climbing and unnec- 
essary disturbance in gathering classes is avoided. It is most con- 
venient for evening lectures in which the general public may par- 
take. The stage must be proportionate to the entire whole, with 
anterooms on either side. At least two exits should be provided." 

Gymnasiums. Before describing an indoor gymnasium, we wish 
to call attention to the fact that the best place for a gymnasium is 
out of doors. In many of the small high schools of this state lack 
of room and funds makes it impossible to provide a modern gymna- 
sium, but most of our schools have enough ground for tennis court, 
running track, basket ball, trapeze, horse, etc., and boards of edu- 
cation should consider it their duty to assist the school in securing 
such apparatus. At this point a quotation from Supt. Hyatt of 
California suggests itself: 

"It is common nowadays to emphasize the value of plays and 
sports rather than the more formal gymnastic work. It is well to 
remember, however, that the exercises of the gymnasium have 
their place, too. Spontaneous play, for instance, does not straight- 
en stooped shoulders, give habits of good breathing or correct par- 
ticular bodily defects. Some such drills as that above are splendid 
things for young people. The occupations of civilized life seem 
all conspiring to hamper and contract the lungs. To dig, to study, 
to read, to wash dishes, to nurse babes, to keep books, to write, to do 
almost anything, we must droop the shoulders and shrink the chest. 
Unused organs grow weak and invite disease. Consumption is the 
disease of civilization. One in seven of us die of it. How neces- 



56 School Architecture. 

sary, then, for the schools to do all they can against this condition. 
"What a valuable thing for a young person to acquire the habit of 
deep breathing. How important it is for every teacher to give 
breathing exercises and to use every other device he can that will 
broaden the chests, expand the lungs, increase the breathing ca- 
pacity and form good habits in regard to these things." 

Some such exercises should be encouraged in the class rooms. 
Many school buildings in the state have unused, unsanitary base- 
ments, that could be cleaned out, deepened, lighted and equipped 
for play room or gymnasium work during bad weather. 

For the consideration of boards of education that wish to build 
a modern gymnasium, the following standards are suggested: 

The gymnasium should not be on the upper floors as the noise is 
objectionable and the rough play injures plastering and fixtures 
below. For the same reason, it should not join the laboratories. 
The first floor, or a simple, separate frame building joining the 
rear of the main building by a covered porch is the best location, 
although a well-lighted basement is not objectionable. The plan 
of the high school building often makes it possible to raise the 
floor of the assembly hall and thus provide greater height for the 
gvmnasium below. 

The gymnasium should be oblong, similar to the regular basket- 
ball floor. It should be well lighted with windows along the side. 
The bottom of these windows should be about 6 feet above the 
floor in order to allow room for wall apparatus and should be ar- 
ranged for much ventilation. Each student should have about 40 
square feet of floor space. This will often necessitate a schedule 
of hours for different classes. The floor should be of oak or maple 
in very narrow strips and so fitted and oiled as to prevent accumu- 
lation of dust. "German authorities recommend a floor of hard 
asphalt set in concrete and covered with linoleum. This combina- 
tion is firm and yet elastic, nearly noiseless, dust proof, cheap and 
easily renewed." Dressing rooms provided with lockers and show- 
er baths should adjoin the gymnasium. 

Lat oratories. No high school can make the claim of being stand- 
ard and up-to-date unless it is provided with some kind of laborato- 
ries. Such subjects as biology, agriculture, physics and chemistry 
are of little value unless some provision is made for laboratory 
work. In the smaller high schools one room will serve most of 



School Architecture. 57 



these purposes. If possible, this room should have a tile floor, and 
plenty of light including a sky-light. The windows should be pro- 
vided with shutters or shades capable of shutting out all light when 
a dark room is needed. Water tanks and gas burners on heavy 
tables at right angles to the windows are essential, but no at- 
tempt to describe apparatus is in order here. Cases with locks 
should be provided for delicate apparatus. Much of the simple 
-apparatus should be made by pupils, teachers, black-smiths and 
carpenters. The rest should be purchased for specific purposes 
-cinder the advice of the science teacher. In no case should large 
sets of apparatus be purchased. In large high schools the different 
laboratories should surround the lecture or class room. This sci- 
ence class room should have raised seats and a well equipped table 
-where the teacher may make demonstrations before the whole 
class. There should be a closed case or room for supplies. The 
-teacher should carry the key for this room. 

The Principal's Room or Office. To provide for the principal 
or superintendent a well furnished, large office with desk, filing 
cases, typewriter, telephone, speaking tubes and other modern 
•conveniences is one of the best ways for a board of education to 
economize, for the increase in the amount and kind of work the 
principal can do under such conditions will soon more than pay 
for the extra cost. This room should be near the entrance and 
•command a view of as many halls and stairways as possible. 

Teachers' lioom. "Where many teachers work in the same build- 
ing, there should be a cozy room with table, easy chairs, lavato- 
ries, etc., where teachers may go for rest or consultation. The win- 
dows of the room should open upon a pleasing view. 

Other Special Booms. Other special rooms needed according to 
the size of the school and peculiar local conditions are, art room, 
library, manual training and domestic science rooms, storage room, 
and janitor's room. As these require no peculiar architecture, they 
will not be discussed in this connection. The same reasons that 
-cause people to provide special rooms in their homes for kitchen, 
-dining room, library, parlor, etc., should cause school authorities 
to provide special school rooms and buildings for special purposes. 
The school has outgrown the idea that it is a place for reciting 
lessons from books and nothing else. In many places teachers, 
pupils, and organizations furnish the special rooms without extra 
cost to the taxpayers. 



58 



School Architecture. 




District High School, Fayette County, 





w • 




WfkSiE&mim^M 


~\M 



District High School, Mannington, W. Va. 



School Architecture. 



59 




The Beaver Pond District High Sciiocl in the City of 
Bltjefield, W. Va. 



This is the largest, best equipped and most modern district high school 
building in the state. A glance at this picture is suff cient to convince the 
reader that this building conforms to the general standards of school ar- 
chitecture, although the lack of a suitable lot makes it impossible to show 
the building to the best advantage. However, the lack of outside play- 
ground is offset by unusual gymnasium provisions. Almost all the lower 
story is devoted to a gymnasium containing a standard basket-ball floor, 
running track, wall and floor apparatus, shower baths, dressing rooms 
and audience galleries. On the same floor is a commodious room for do- 
mestic science and manual training. 

Among other special features are offices for superintendent, princi- 
pal, stenographer and hoard of education. The building is equipped 
throughout with classroom telephones which connect with the offices of 
superintendent and principal. Ample provisions are made for labora- 
tories, library, special and regular class rooms. The auditorium has a 
regular seating capacity for nine hundred. 



60 



School Architecture. 




SlSTEESVILLE HlGH SCHOOL. 




Charleston High School. 



School Architecture. 



61 




Courtesy Sitpt. Edward Hyatt, California. 
Kern County High School. 




Courtesy Supt. Edward Hyatt, California. 
Proposed Paradise School. 

Such school buildings as these are in keeping with California's wealth 
and beauty. 



62 School Architecture. 

SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE -THE CLASS ROOM. 
F. L. Burdette, Superintendent of Clarksburg Public Schools. 

In providing school buildings for a community, boards of edu- 
cation should have in view the immediate needs of the community 
and the probable demand for additional room for some years to 
come. The location, size, and arrangements of a building should 
be such as to make it as nearly ideal as possible for at least a score 
of years. Should the community be one whose growth would pre- 
clude the possibility of a building that would accommodate ail the 
school children for so long a time, at least its location, style and 
inside arrangements should be as nearly faultless as circumstances 
will permit. 

The local school building should embody the best ideas in beauty 
and dignity of architecture to be found anywhere in the vicinity. 
The style should be regular, without a mixture of straight and 
curved lines, rounded and pointed arches, lofty towers, high or 
Mansard roofs, and many sharply broken Avails. Such things de- 
tract from the simple dignity of a building, and from its beauty. 
On the other hand they increase materially the cost and add little 
or nothing to the utility of a house. A building constructed on 
the more classic lines costs less, serves better the school's needs, and 
gives to the public a model of the better style of architecture. No 
considerable building should ever be erected except after the 
plans of a competent architect. 

The immediate and constant advantages of a well constructed 
school building come especially from the inside arrangements. The 
size and shape of rooms, amount and arrangement of light, method 
and efficiency of beating and ventilating, and the general sanitary 
arrangements in the building, all necessarily to come within a 
reasonable cost, are the real problems to solve. A suitable plan 
for a school building embodies the best possible of all these. But 
the purpose of this article is not to discuss at length any of these 
important matters. Only the class room and its necessary parts 
Avill be considered further here. 

Size of Class Boom. — The class room is where the teacher and 
pupils sit and work from day to day; it is their constant workshop. 
II is not possible to foretell at the time of building just how many 



School Architecture. 63 



and what age of pupils must at some time be assigned to a particular 
room. So the arrangement of the room should bs the best in a gen- 
eral and special way that circumstances will allow. For general 
use, rooms should be about 32 feet long, 28 feet wide, and not less 
than 13 feet high. In rural communities where the number of 
children will surely be small, the width might be reduced to 24 
feet. There is no danger of too much room within these limits, 
less might lead to over-crowding at any time. 

Windoivs. — The window space should be from one-fifth to one- 
fourth the floor space of the room, the windows should be 3 feet from 
the door, should extend up close to the ceiling, and should be pro- 
vided with transoms adjustable by strong lifters. If light is provid- 
ed from only one side of the room, that greater amount of window 
space is necessary. In order to properly diffuse light throughout the 
rooms the arrangement of windows on two sides, left and rear, 
is better. Where a room is provided with windows on these two 
sides, it is easier to secure enough light at all times without any 
group of pupils receiving any large amount of it directly in the 
face. Grouping of windows gives a good architectural effect, but 
prevents the best distribution of light, and should not be encour- 
aged. Many persons advocate the arrangement of windows on only 
th.p left side; but this lighting from only one side generally fails 
to distribute light evenly to all parts of the room. 

Blackboards. — Blackboards should be placed in available space 
on two sides of the room, front and right. For the possible changes 
in the size of pupils assigned to a room, the blackboards should be 
4 feet wide and placed 26 inches from the floor. Natural slate is 
the best material to use. To increase the available space for the 
boards, it is advisable to have only one entrance from the school 
room to the cloak room. Another entrance to the cloak room should 
then be provided from the hall-way. 

Cloak Booms. — The cloak rooms should join the class room, 
should be provided with two entrances, should have ample light, 
heat and ventilation, and should be separated from both the hall- 
way and school room by closed doors. Doors into the class rooms 
should open in, so as to leave them under the control of the teach- 
er in charge. School room floors should always be of hard wood, 
which is more sanitary and more easily kept clean. 

Walls and Ceilings. — The walls and ceilings of school rooms 
should be smooth, so as to lessen the accumulation of dust, and 



64 School Architecture. 

they should be tinted in a color agreeable to the eye. The best 
color for the tinting varies somewhat with the amount and kind 
of light. 

The time has come when we can and should provide more at- 
tractive, more serviceable, and more durable school buildings. Toot 
little has been done and is now being done along these lines for a 
saner school policy. We should be compelled by the force of 
public opinion, and by law as in some other states, to awaken to 
these needs. 

THE INTERIOR DECORATIONS OF SCHOOLS. 

(From School Architecture and School Improvement in Cali- 
fornia. Used by permission of State Supt. Edward Hyatt.) 

This keen and scholarly article is by Walter J. Kenyan, a Cali- 
fornia, schoolmaster. It is taken from the School Review, No- 
vember, 1906. 

Our graded school requires of its pupils a classroom attendance 
of eight thousand hours. This is a heavy tribute to levy upon the 
period of childhood, and it may well purchase other things for the 
pupil than an acquisition merely of those weapons of traffic dear 
to the utilitarian's heart — the so-called rudiments. It is the pres- 
ent purpose to discuss some of those silent influences which, with- 
out interference with the traditional purpose of the school, make 
for a richer childhood and a better community. 

The first of thesp concerns the color effects of the classroom. 
When a competent architect plans a schoolhouse, he presumes of 
course that, given due time for drying out, the plaster walls will be 
appropriately tinted or papered, and in such tones as will give a 
harmonious color unity to the whole room. It is noticeable, how- 
ever, that in the average American schoolhouse this ideal is sel- 
dom consummated. We rush our furnishings in, and the painters 
and plasterers have hardly packed up their tools before the classes 
are settled in an established school routine. And as for those glar- 
ing white walls, we "first endure, then pity, then embrace," finally 
forgetting that the plan was ever otherwise. 

There are reasons, however, beyond a mere aesthetic preference, 
why the schoolroom walls should not be left white. It is the com- 
mon testimony of physicians that the glaring whitewash aggra- 



School Architecture. 65 

vates nervous afflictions and injures the eyes. Many a mother 
diagnoses her girl's nervous headache as a case of overstudy, when 
it is in reality a product of five hours ' exposure to the harsh, blind- 
ing glare of the schoolroom walls. And many a boy is condemned 
as a wickedly disposed nuisance, when he merely exhibits a nervous 
irritation which a proper color scheme will abate. A well-known 
Massachusetts physician, Dr. Myles Standish, of Boston, says: 

I have often seen children immediately and permanently recover 
from a persistent recurring diseased condition of the eyes when re- 
moved from a school room with white walls, and sent 
elsewhere to school or kept at home, where the walls 
are tinted. The principal color of the walls should be 
of an even tone, so that the amount of light reflected 
will be the same from all parts of the surface, as waving 
or clouded effects are very trying to sensitive eyes. Any color may 
be placed in its proper position with regard to its safety for school 
room walls by remembering the general rule with regard to the 
sensitiveness of the eye to the colors of the spectrum, which is, that 
the nearer the color is to the red end of the spectrum, the more 
irritating it is to the eyes; and the nearer the color is tc the blue 
end of the spectrum, the easier it is to the eyes, with the single ex- 
ception that the extreme violet rays also are irritating. 

From this it will be seen that red and all its derivatives should 
be rigidly excluded, and orange also is nearly as bad, while yellow 
should never be taken by preference. Greens and blues are abso- 
lutely safe colors, and it is not at all necessary that the colors' 
should be pronounced. The depth of the color would be made de- 
pendent upon the amount of light coming in at the windows, and 
upon its quality, as, for instance, whether the windows have a 
northern or southern exposure, whether the sun's rays can come 
directly into the room when the sun sinks low in the heavens in 
the middle of a winter afternoon, and other surrounding circum- 
stances of each individual room. 

The color of the ceiling of a school room is fully as important 
as the color of the walls, particularly when there is any amount 
of reflected light. 

All I have said with regard to the color of the walls is doubly 
true when applied to the window shades, and this fact should al- 
ways be taken into consideration in furnishing and decorating a 
schoolroom. 



66 School Architecture. 

Medical science is constantly finding new and positive evidence 
of the pathological effects of color. And it rests with any of us to 
make simple experiments which will show conclusively the influ- 
ence of color upon the emotions. Look through a blue glass, and 
we see a sad, unhopeful prospect, in the midst of which only the 
utmost exertion of will-power can sustain a cheerful mood. Look 
through a red glass, and the reverse feeling is aroused. Th'e out- 
look is one of exaggerated sunshine, which stimulates the imagina- 
tion, induces a sanguine mood, and suggests action. The blue-glass 
craze of the seventies was an incident which fore-shadowed the wide 
employment of color as a remedial agent. 

We are thus in possession of a more or less definite knowledge of 
the pathology of color. We know that red is stimulating, irritat- 
ing, unrestful. We know that blue is quieting, but also depressing. 
Since the pupil of the elementary school spends eight thousand 
hours in actual attendance in the classroom, it is of the highest 
importance to give him a color environment which will not, on the 
one hand, be a source of depression and melancholy, nor, on the 
other, an agent of excessive nervous stimulation. 

We have such a color in green of the quieter sort. There is a 
whole gamut of green, running from light apple down through 
the stone-greens, or "dried pea," to the deep, rich olives. This se- 
ries is perfectly adapted to the requirements of interior tinting, 
either for home or for school. The distinction is often mad-3 be- 
tween a north and south room, reddish buffs and terra-cottas be- 
ing recommended for the former. This distinction is not vital, 
however, and we always approach the danger line as we move to- 
ward the red end of the spectrum. One of the most delightful 
school buildings it has been my good fortune to visit is tinted 
throughout, north and south rooms alike, in low stone-green. An- 
other building in the same city is tinted in blue — the relic of a 
former regime — and the effect is so depressing that one experiences 
a feeling of relief and renewed joy on once regaining the outer air. 

A combination beyond further desire is to be had by coloring the 
wainscoting and woodwork a deep olive, the walls up to th-3 mold- 
ing a middle sage-green, and above that, the walls and ceiling a 
lighter and neutral stone-green ; this combination, of course, with 
the real slate board. It goes without saying that this coloring 
shall be "dull finish". 



School Architecture. 



67 



A striking fact is to be noted just here. The blackboard, the 
recipient of endless obloquy at the hands of the aesthetic, ceases 
to offend where the walls are rightly tinted. Indeed, the real slate 
"blackboard" is never black at all, but a pleasing quiet gray that 
has no quarrels. It is onh r a glaring white wall that thrusts the 
blackboard into undue prominence, and thus makes it a scapegoat 
for a fault not its own. Speaking of blackboards, the various ex- 
periments in tinting the board have proved anything but satisfac- 
tory. The logical and satisfactory combination is a tinted wall 
and a board of natural slate-gray. A room thus finished is funda- 
mentally beautiful and is not in urgent need of any further deco- 




A SCHOOL ROOM WITH WELL-FINISHED WELL-DECCKATED WALLS. 

ration. Speaking generally, we may say that a room properly 
tinted is nine-tenths decorated. 

I remember one school particularly, in Andover, when George E. 
Johnson was in charge. It had not exactly the "dim religious 
light," but a quality of air and color which one's home has, if he 
has a home. Its rooms were as cool as the aisles of the woods, and 
as mellow ; rooms that seem to have, in themselves, a personality, 
and to be sociable when empty. I used to think that not even a 
Jukes would play truant from such a school as that; and that no 
teacher, be she over so mediocre, could quite annul the beneficence 
to the pupil of such a surrounding. 



68 School Architecture. 

WHY WE NEED PURE AIR. 

Did you ever see a fish out of water? Did you ever watch one 
wriggle and struggle and gasp as his life slowly slipped away? 
It is distressing to watch a fine, strong specimen which a few min- 
utes ago could dart hither and thither through the water with 
great speed and force, die by degrees when taken from his native 
realm. "What causes the fish's death? A little study of his make- 
up will show you that his gills which are lungs to him are made to 
get oxygen from water, hence when out of water he dies for air 
although it is all about him in abundant supply. 

Did you ever step from outside fresh air into a crowded, stuffy, 
poorly ventilated school room? Did you see the children, some 
wriggling, some gaping, and others half sleeping because they could 
not get enough air? What was the matter? The fish had air all 
about it, but it did not have proper breathing apparatus. The chil- 
dren in the school room had proper breathing apparatus, but were 
slowly dying for want of fresh air although a world supply was 
just outside. It is a shame to catch up a lot of lively rosy-cheeked 
boys and girls whose lungs were made for out-door fresh air and 
crowd them into a tight box and compel them to sit still for hours 
and breathe impure, poison air. 

School officers and teachers should remember that the blood de- 
pends upon the air supply for much of its food and that the body 
depends upon the blood as its great safeguard against disease. In 
spite of all precautions, school children are subject to many dan- 
gers from disease germs and it is a grave mistake to force them 
into the midst of these foes with no means of ample protection. 
"We readily recognize the effects of the lack of ordinary food upon 
animals, of a lack of water upon vegetation. Most of us have no- 
ticed the pale, sickly plant that grows without proper sunlight, 
but many teachers and members of boards of education fail to 
recognize the starving condition of children who are robbed of the 
proper amount of free, fresh air. 

It is hoped that those concerned will read the following pages 
carefully and seek in every way possible to know how to provide 
proper means of ventilation and heating. The cost of proper heat- 
ing and ventilating systems seems high, but what is a little cost 
when compared to human life? 



School Architecture. 69 

VENTILATION AND SANITATION. 

Joseph Rosier, Superintendent Fairmont Public Schools. 

Boards of education, school superintendents and principals in 
cur state are just beginning to realize their duty and responsibil- 
ity in relation to the promotion of public health. It was formerly 
thought that provision for intellectual training was sufficient, and 
that it was entirely outside the sphere of the educational authori- 
ties to give any attention to physical development, and the preser- 
vation of health, but with the scientific study of education, we have 
found that physical conditions very materially affect the mental 
growth of the child. It is now recognized as the imperative duty 
of school authorities in providing educational equipment to give 
careful attention to those things that are conducive to healthful 
physical development, and that will prevent the spread of disease. 

In olden times it was thought that epidemics of disease that re- 
sulted in the death of thousands of people were the visitation of an 
avenging providence, and that the sins of the people were thus 
being punished, but with the advance of medical and sanitary sci- 
ence, we know that most of the diseases that destroy mankind are 
preventable. The great Pasteur has said that it is within the 
power of men to cause all parasitic diseases to disappear from the 
world. General knowledge must be the basis of the fight against 
preventable disease. This involves first of all a widespread ac- 
quaintance with the germ theory of disease which is a clearly dem- 
onstrated fact of modern science. In the air we breathe and in the 
food we eat, and in the water we drink, are the germs of the many 
diseases that afflict and destroy mankind. There are two lines of 
attack in the warfare against disease germs. First we may keep 
our bodies in such perfect physical condition through the observ- 
ance of the laws of health that these germ enemies cannot find 
receptive soil within our bodies. Second we may so purify and 
cleanse our physical surroundings that the number of germs in air, 
food and water will be reduced to the minimum, or they may be 
completely abolished. A recent writer on this subject has given 
a very vivid picture of what a land without disease germs would be 
like. It would be a land where there are no colds, catarrh, con- 
sumption, influenza, diphtheria, or pneumonia ; a land where boils, 
blood poisoning, and lockjaw are unknown; a land where there is 



70 School Architecture. 

do smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, or mumps; a 
land free from malaria, cholera, leprosy, yellow fever, and typhoid 
fever. 

Our people in general must be educated through the schools con- 
cerning the ravages of the germ diseases, and the importance of ex- 
ercising every possible precaution in checking them. In the United 
States in 1907 there was for each 100,000 population a death rate 
of .2 from smallpox, 12.2 from whooping cough, 24.3 from diph- 
theria, and croup. 26.6 from meningitis, 161.2 from pneumonia, 
and 183.6 from tuberculosis, and 30.3 from typhoid fever. It is a 
curious fact that in most communities a case of smallpox will cause 
more concern than a case of any of the other diseases mentioned, 
aiid yet the cither diseases are far more widespread and disastrous 
in their results. The leading scourges of the people according to 
the above figures are typhoid fever, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. 
These diseases must be conquered largely by proper means of sani- 
tation and ventilation in the home, in the school and in the commu- 
nity. In 1907 the death rate from typhoid fever in England and 
Wales for each 100,000 papulation was 6.7. That is in that year 
there were nearly five times as many deaths for each 100,000 in- 
habitants in this country as in those countries from this purely germ 
disease. Typhoid fever is a much dreaded disease in this country, 
but more than six times as many people die from tuberculosis. In 
its relation to the health problem the school must do two things. 
If must provide ample opportunities for the best possible physical 
development in playgrounds and in physical exercise, and sensible 
and practical instruction in physiology and hygiene. It must make 
its physical environment of such a character that it will be free 
from disease germs, and from those conditions that breed or scatter 
disease germs. 

The first problem to be considered in the light of the foregoing 
facts in the erection of a school house is the matter of ventilation. 
That is the furnishing of an abundance of fresh pure air to the chil- 
dren in the school room for breathing. Let it be understood by 
every one having the responsibility of erecting a school house that 
this matter is imperative. In the light of the above knowledge of 
disease germs it is a crime to house children in a school room that 
through lack of proper ventilation is a hotbed for the breeding 
and scattering of deadly germs that may cut short their lives. In 



School Architecture. 



71 



the towns and cities this of course calls for gravity systems in 
smaller buildings, and single and double fan systems in larger 
buildings. The problem must also be met in the villages and rural 
districts. There are a number of plans that may be adopted for 
the rural school building. 




A MODERN HEATING SYSTEM. 



Jacketing Stoves. Even the old-fashioned stove may be put in 
the corner of the room, and be surrounded with a hoed of sheeting 
a few inches from the stove, and extending to the top with a duct 
to bring fresh air into the space between the stove and the sheeting. 
The foul air may be carried out by means of a duct passing from 
the lower part of the floor, and connecting with thf chimney above. 
Any intelligent carpenter who has been given a few minutes expla- 
nation of the laws of room ventilation, can with a few dollars extra 
expense work out a plan that will be a great improvement over the 
present lack of ventilation in the one room school house. 



72 School Architecture. 

New Systems of Healing. But no new school house ought to be 
erected without being equipped with one of the new room furnaces 
that are now on the market. A stove or furnace of this character 
will cost two or throe times as much as the old-fashioned kind, but 
it will provide excellent and sanitary means ccf heating and venti- 
lating the room. As I write I quote from the circular describing 
one of these modern heaters. It consists of a sanitary room furnace 
or convection heater, a patent fresh air intake, patent siphon foul 
air extractor, and an air humidifier. We are told that the fresh 
air pours into the convection shield through the fresh air intake. 
"Within the shield, the air is then warmed quickly to the proper 
temperature, rises to the ceiling and spreads out over the entire 
room. In the meantime the pull of the foul air extractor supple- 
mented by the upward current through the shield, draws the colder 
heavier air off the floor. The lighter, warmer layers from above 
gradually settle toward the floor to take the place of the air remov- 
ed, and are themselves replaced in turn by warm, fresh air. This 
goes on continuously. 

As will be seen this is merely the application of the principle of 
heating and ventilating used in larger buildings to a single room, 
except that the stove or furnace is placed in the room. No board of 
education has done its duty to the children and the community 
that does not make an honest effort to provide some mechanical 
means of ventilation in every new school house erected, whatever 
may be the number of rooms, and the county superintendent is not 
doing his full duty if he approves of a building that has no pro- 
vision for ventilation excepting the windows. 

Effects of Bad Air. Modern sanitary science has developed the 
fact that the enervating, depressing effect of school room air, is not 
so much due to the excess of carbon dioxide as it is to the low hu- 
midity, and excessive heat. Some years ago Dr. E. R. Shaw, an 
authority on this subject, examined a building in which there was a 
complete heating and ventilating system, as to the condition of the 
air. At ten o'clock in the morning the temperature was 70 degrees, 
and the relative humidity 25 per cent. The 700 children in the 
building breathed this air for three hours, and then passed out 
into an atmosphere having 80 per cent, of moisture, and they re- 
turned to go through the same process in the afternoon. Such 
changes as these pupils underwent must unquestionably result in 
colds and inflammation of the throat and bronchial passages. On 



School Architecture. 73 

the other hand an excess of humidity together with heat causes a 
feeling of depression. Dr. Luther Gulick in a recent address .says 
in speaking on the health of the teacher that it is really true that 
the men and women who stay in our overheated school rooms for 
many years literally dry up. Some teachers keep a kettle or pot 
on the stove. This is good as far as it goes, but the ordinary ves- 
sel used will not begin to supply the humidity lost in heating the 
air of the room, even though it be frequently filled. Sanitary ex- 
perts are of the opinion that a mean relative humidity of not less 
than 50 per cent is necessary to health. Therefore in dealing with 
the problem of ventilation provisions must be made to preserve a 
proper amount of moisture in the air, or to replace that lost by 
heating. 

Location of School Buildings. The location of the school build- 
ing will have much to do with the health of the children. It should 
be central so that the children in reaching the building will not be 
unduly exposed. The site should be on a gentle slope, and if it 
does not naturally drain away from the building on all sides, it 
should be graded so that it will. All authorities agree that the 
soil is an important matter in the site. A rich loamy soil should 
be avoided, as should also a soil of clay. They retain moisture in 
excess. The site should not be near a swamp, or places where pools 
of water stand part of the year, and it should have an eastern ex- 
posure. Soil formed from decayed vegetation, swamps, and stag- 
nant pools are favorable breeding places for disease germs. Dry 
soil with perfect drainage, air uncontaminated by filthy surround- 
ings, and all the sunshine that can be secured, are deadly foes of 
our germ enemies. In the erection of new buildings whether in 
town or country no pains should be spared to meet the above re- 
quirements in a site. In case a dry soil with good drainage cannot 
be secured in a central location, the site selected should be graded 
and drained before the building is erected. Too much emphasis 
cannot be placed upon selecting a site with a view to the health- 
fulness and the wholesomeness of its surroundings. 

Outhouses. From the sanitary standpoint the most urgent mat- 
ter is the construction and the care of the school outhouses. In the 
cities and towns where there are water and sewer systems this 
problem must be met by the installation of sanitary closets with first 
class plumbing. Tn the villages and country districts where there 
are no sewer and water connections other means must be adopted. 



School Architecture. 



The most unsanitary thing imaginable is the water closet connected 
with the average village and country school. In too many places 
it is a filthy stench. Bacteriologists agree that disease germs are 
scattered only through the discharges from the bodies of those who 
have disease. Therefore proper health conditions require the ut- 
most precautions in destroying all bodily excreta. The closet should 
not be located so that water in rainy seasons will drain from it on to 
the grounds and pollute the soil. It should be constructed with the 
idea constantly in mind that it may be the abiding place of the 
most deadly enemies of the community. This means that it should 
be securely closed in every way. There should be a vault built of 
stone and cement so that the surrounding soil cannot be contami- 
nated. This vault should be cleaned three or four times a year. 
The contents should be taken far from the building and scattered 
on ground where they will be exposed to the sun which is the best 
destroyer of disease germs. There is also what is called the "pail 
system". By this plan galvanized iron pails are placed in the 
vault, and removed at regular intervals, and replaced by others. 
The openings in the closets should be covered, and the entire space 
around the vault made so tight that flies cannot enter. For it is 
recognized now that the tly is the most common carrier of disease 
germs. School boards should furnish as a part of their regular 
supplies an abundant quantity of. lime and fine dry earth which 
should be used freely each day in the closet. In many sections wood 
allies can be more easily secured, and they are better than lime. 
For the preservation of health among school children, the school 
closet should receive first consideration. School authorities in 
many localities are criminally negligent in this matter. For the 
sake of moral decency, the approach and entrance to the closet 
should be shielded from public view by screens. 

Water Supply. Another matter of serious importance to the 
health of the children is that of the supply of drinking water. In 
the cities where there is a water system, the buildings should be 
supplied with sanitary drinking fountains, thus doing away with 
the drinking cup. In village and country neighborhoods there is 
usually a well on the school grounds. To be safe this should be 
drilled deep and cased with the best quality of galvanized iron pipe 
so that there is no possibility of surface drainage getting into it. 
There should be a cement basin and curbing about the top of the 
well with a drainage pipe so that all waste water may be carried 



School Architecture. 



75 




off quickly. The well should be thoroughly cleaned out at the 
opening of each term, and the pumping or bailing apparatus 
should be kept in perfect sanitary condition. Children need to 
drink an abundance of water and their health demands that it 
should be pure and free from injurious germs. As soon as possible 
the common drinking cup should be banished from all our schools. 
It is believed to be the most fruitful means of communicating dis- 
ease. The drinking fountain in the city meets the difficulty, and 
in the village and the country it must be met for the present by 
the individual drinking cups. These may be furnished by the 
school board or by the parents of the children. 

If we are to win in 
this warfare against 
disease, the people 
of every community 
must awaken to the 
value and the necessi- 
ty of sanitation in the 
school and in the 
home. Those en- 
gaged in the cam- 
paign for better health conditions have declared implacable 
war against the five D's — dirt, darkness, dampness, dust, and 
drink. All the dirty, dark and damp places about the school 
building and grounds should be banished. The outside of the 
building should be painted regularly, and the inside floors and 
woodwork should be scrubbed and washed with strong soap and 
water two or three times a year. School authorities should see to 
it that no one can justly charge or claim that the school either in 
town or country is a breeding place of disease and death. Our 
schools both in precept and in practice 
should lead in the movement for civic 
health and cleanliness. . Fresh and uncontami 
nateo! air to breath day and night, wholesome 
and unadulterated food to eat, and pure water 
free from all disease germs to drink, will greath 
lessen sickness and doctor bills in every commun- 
ity and every home. I sincerely hope that edu 
cational authorities everywhere will see to it, that 
the school and its environment present to the window shade 

ADTITSTFR 

community the best possible example of right 

^ x Courtesy Montgomery, 

sanitary conditions. • ward & Co. 



A New System of Heating. 

This is one of the enemies of disease referred to in 
this article. 




76 School Architecture. 



AVATER SUPPLY AND DRINKING CUPS. 

(Note — See the following- article on ''Drinking Fountains" for a 
more complete discussion of this question.) 

Too often school houses are built with no thought of an abundant 
supply of water. Usually the school children should not be put at 
the mercy of nearby neighbors for drinking water, although many 
of our schools are well supplied from springs or wells kept up by 
neighboring citizens. If spring water is used care should be taken 
to keep the spring free from incoming or decaying filth. 

Some schools within the knowledge of the writer get their drink- 
ing water from streams that receive the drainage of many stables 
and closets. Such carelessness indicates a very low estimate of life 
and right habits. 

Where funds are available, the school should be furnished with a 
well, properly keated and so cemented as to prevent surface water) 
and filth from entering. If a well is used, it should be "pumped 
out" and cleaned before the opening of school each year. 

These matters should be attended to by official act and not left 
to good-natured neighobrs, careless boys, or indifferent teachers. 

Drinking Vessels — I see it now — that old, rusty, dirty water buck- 
et sitting in the corner of the room catching great quantities of the 
dust which floats in clouds from a poorly kept floor, or perhaps 
sitting beneath a shelf covered with hats, clothing, brooms, dust rags 
and promiscuous dirt, all of which add their quota to the mass of 
germs found in the water. I see the common dipper also — used day 
after day and week after week by twenty-five or thirty pupils — 
some with diseased hands, some with sore lips, others healthy and 
clean. Many of these children practice economy by pouring what 
is left of a dipper-full back into the common bucket and thus swell 
the company of germs. I know some will sneer at so much "fuss 
about germs," but "hardheaded" medical science says they are 
there and dangerous too, and good manners protests against such 
habits on the grounds ctf personal rights and decency. 

If one bucket and dipper must be used they should be cleaned 
daily, scalded often and kept in as clean place as possible. 

At very small cost, boards of education in rural districts can se- 



School Architecture. 



77 



cure a closed earthen tank with a faucet for drawing the water 
when needed. This shuts out dust and prevents the cup or surplus 
water from being thrown into the water to be used. 

Individual Drinking Cups. — A great many schools in West Vir- 
ginia where water systems and drinking fountains are not available 
are using individual drinking cups. In some schools each child 




Courtesy O. J. Kern, author of "Among Country Schools." 
A Plan Which Can Be Used By Any Teachek. 

keeps a glass or folded cup in the desk and uses same for drinking 
purposes. "What is probably a better plan is indicated by the pic- 
ture above, which shows how individual cups may be kept ready 
for use by the pupils. When such cups are used they should not 
be dipped into the water bucket, but should be filled with a dipper 
or still better from the faucet of the water tank described above. 



DEINKING FOUNTAINS. 
T. J. Humphrey, Sitpt. Grafton Public Schools. 

We are no longer at the threshold of the twentieth century, but 
well within its gates, aud whether we want it or not, our shoulders 
are resting squarely under the burden it places upon us with no pos- 
sible way of escape save through the effort to bring twentieth century 
conditions into harmony with twentieth century demands, which 



78 



School Architecture. 



demands are based upon scientific investigations which reveal to an 
appalling degree, a lack of santitary conditions in our public schools. 
Since it is my privilege to say a few words concerning one of these 




Courteny of The Anti-Germ Drinking Fountain Co., Boston. 
The Anti-Germ Drinking Fountain. 

burdens, T shall be glad to let them be against the "CUP THAT 
KILLS" and in favor of its successor, the ''MODERN DRINKING 
FOUNTAIN. " Indeed I think it almost superfluous to say anything 



School Architecture. 



79 



against the common drinking cup in the school house, for surely 
there are very few who have been elected to manage our public 
schools who have not been made aware by the newspapers, maga 
zines, journals, and doctors of the dangers that must attend this 
method of supplying drinking water to the children in these schools, 
even though they have gone so far as to supply the individual drink- 
ing cup. 

Bacteriologists have shown us too conclusively how the germ of 
diphtheria, scarlet fever, tonsiiitis, . tuberculosis, yes and those 
more loathsome diseases, gonorrhea and syphilis have been spread 
through the drinking cup. We are assured that though a person is 
perfectly healthy, the mouth is a natural lurking place of all kinds 
of germs, both dangerous and harmless. We sometimes wonder how 
certain epidemics get started in our schools when a little investiga- 
tion shows that it is due to our eternal carelessness and negligence in 
heeding the demands or observing the sanitary laws which are the 
common knowledge of almost all. It's too late to plead ignorance; 
the drinking cup must go, and in its stead where possible, must 
come the fountain which is absolutely sanitary, easy to keep clean 
and which will be able to control water pressure. Great care 
should be exercised in the selection of this fixture, lest you get some- 
thing that will not prove satisfactory. If this is to be installed in 

the building where provisions have 
not already been made for it, 
you will probably have to use the 
type with a pedestal base, resting 
on the floor in the corridor, which 
is always objectionable in so far 
that it is in the way and more or 
less dirt will be let accumulate at 
the floor. If installed with the 
building, it is better to have it 
placed in an arch way recess pre- 
pared in the wall as this not only 
takes it out of the way, but the 
overflow pipes are always hidden, 
foun- which is more sanitary as will be 
readily seen. 

Which ever type is used, however, it should be provided with 
the recent improvement of regulating the flow of water which will 
not only save water but prevent it spurting to the ceiling and flood- 




From "School Sanitation & Decora- 
tion," D. C. Heath & Co., Pub- 
lishers. 



SANITARY DRINKING 
TAIN. 



80 



School Architecture. 



ing the floor. It will likewise insure the one who is drinking from 
an embarassing situation which may result from a sudden change 
of pressure. 

Another recent improvement which should be carefully consider- 
ed is the displacement of the metal bubbling cup with the vitrous 
china, thus preventing corrosion, discoloration and other objection- 
able features. It also offers good protection to the lips and teeth 
from serious injury which is sometimes caused by children who are 
over anxious to have a little fun at the expense of some one who is 
drinking — not infrequently a tooth or two is shattered. We are 
not talking theory, but from experience, as our board of educa- 
tion last year placed fountains in all of our schools, and so far as 
we are concerned, we have seen the passing of the drinking cup, 
with all its germs, dirt and filth, and are now watching our boys 
and girls drink from a bubbling fountain with the consciousness 
that not only doctor bills are being saved, but misery and suffering. 

JACKETED STOVES. 
Experience and experiments show that an ordinary stove with- 
out a jacket gives very unequal distribution of warm and cold air. 
The picture given herewith shows how pupils who sit near an or- 




>•/..,,. ••Hi.nool Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. 
The ordinary unjacketed stove, showing the unequal distribution of 
warm and cold air. Think of the number of little children who sit 
day after day in the region of "cold and foul air." 

dinary stove suffer with too much heat, while those farther away 
are too cold. Such diagrams as the one given here are not mere 
guesswork, but are made from thermometer readings and other 



School Architecture. 



81 



accurate observations. Some such system as the Smith or Water- 
man-Waterbury. which are explained on the following pages, 
should be used where possible. For the benefit of boards of edu- 
cation without sufficient funds for purchasing such elaborate sys- 
tems the following directions are given : 

In some states heating systems have been installed in the base- 
ment of rural school buildings. This method has been found un- 
satisfactory in most cases because proper plumbing and janitor 
service can not be secured or afforded in such places. Therefore 
some system of jacketing the stoves must be adopted. I quote 
from an article which says, ' ' The stove should be surrounded by a 




Frcm ''School Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. 

Gravity system, with inlet near the floor and outlet near the ceiling on the 
opposite side, indicating- a very poor distribution of warm air. 

sheet or plate of some kind, set a few inches from the stove; so that 
the air between the stove and jacket may be heated to make it rise 
and circulate through the rooms instead of scorching the faces of 
the youngsters who sit nearest. 

This jacket may be a wooden frame covered with sheets of as- 
bestos ; it may be of tin or galvanized iron. It may be put around 
any stove no matter what its size and shape, and may be done by a 
tinner, a carpenter, a blacksmith or any ordinary handy man. It 
is very greatly improved when a hole is cut through the floor under 
the stove, so as to draw in fresh air from out of doors to pass up 
between the stove and the jacket. This hole should be large, and 
should be controlled by a slide or register of some kind. 

"When connected with the outdoor air in this way, the jacketed 
stove is a ventilating as well as a heating device, bringing in fresh 



82 



School Architecture. 



air, warming it and distributing it through the room. It should be 
balanced by providing a large outlet for foul air, at the floor level 
and near the stove. This foul air outlet may be a small fireplace ; 
or a large pipe going into the chimney and up the chimney. Thus 
it is surrounded and heated by the smoke from the stove, which 
produces an upward suction in the pipe, drawing off bad air from 
the room below." 




From "School Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. 
Gravity system, with inlet and outlet on opposite sides and near the 
floor. The current of warm air indicated by the arrows goes too 
near the ceiling and thus fails to reach the pupils. 




From '•'School Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. 
Gravity system, with inlet and outlet on the same side of the room. This 
shows the best method of gravity distribution. 



School Architecture. 



83 



THE SMITH SYSTEM FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING SCHOOLS. 




Courtesy of the Manuel-Smith Co., Manufacturers, Minneapolis. 

The above cut shows the distribution of warm air in a school room 
equipped with the Smith System. 




Courtesy of the Manuel- Smith Co., Manufacturers, Minneapolis. 
The Smith System Complete. 



84 



School Architecture. 




School Architecture. 85 

WHAT THE WATERBURY SYSTEM OF HEATING AND 

VENTILATION DOES WHEN INSTALLED 

IN A SCHOOL ROOM. 

First — Supplies large volumes of fresh air rich in oxygen, and 
thoroughly warms and distributes this air over the entire room. 

Second — Removes from the room an equal volume of air which 
has been depleted of its life-sustaining element and has become 
poisoned by large quantities of carbonic acid gas and organic im- 
purities. In short, completely renews the air of the room from 
five to eight times per hour. 

Third— Does away with window ventilation, which is almost as 
great an evil as impure air, admitting as it does, cold draughts to 
the school room, causing colds, coughs, and kindred ailments. 

Fourth — Maintains a uniform temperature all over the room. 

Fifth— Absolutely eliminates the cold floor problem and 
"dreaded hot stove." 

Sixth — Adds 25 per cent to the seating capacity by removing the 
plant to the o.nrner of the room; changes unsightly heater to a 
heating plant of pleasing design. 

Seventh — Reduces amount of district's fuel bill by utilizing the 
heat that is usually wasted in overheating the upper portion of the 
room and that part immediately surrounding the stove. 

Eighth — Saves the people of the district many times the cost of 
the plant in doctor bills, to say nothing of the many days' absence 
on account of illness. 

Ninth — Adds 25 per cent to the efficiency of the school because 
of the better work accomplished under improved conditions. 

Tenth — The whole apparatus is under the direct supervision of 
the teachers, who can attend to it without leaving the room. 

Eleventh — Its operation is so simple that any person with ordi- 
nary intelligence can secure perfect results. 

Twelfth — It can be installed in old schools as well as new and at 
any time of the year. It costs only one-fourth (^4) as much as a 
basement furnace and will give decidedly better results. Does not 
require a basement. 



86 



School Architkoturk. 




The Watekbuby Heatee and its Appliances. 



School Architecture. 87 



Raleigh, N. C, 

Feb. 21-1910. 



Hon J Y Joyner, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Raleigh. N. C. 

Dear Sir:- 

At your request, we have carefully examined several 
systems of heating and ventilation for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing, as best we could, the system that in- our opinion would be 
most satisfactory and best adapted in all respects for the public 
Schools of this State, and especially for use in the school houses 
built in accordance with the State plans. 

We have examined and applied the scientific tests to 
plants installed in school rooms by the two systems that we con- 
sidered, after investigation, the best, one of which was the 
Waterbury System, manufactured by the Waterman-Waterbury Company 
We recommend this system as the best that we ave been able to 
find for the public schools of this State, after careful examina- 
tion into the merits OjP various systems, and after these personal 
examinations and tests of the best systems in the country. 

We are satisfied that the adoption and installation of 
this system of heating and ventilation in the schools, of the State, 
will greatly contribute to the comfort, the health, the discipline 
and the intellectual activity of the children 



Very truly yours, 



\&&jl 






88 



School Architecture. 



SEATS AND SEATING. 

This subject is one of very great importance as it has to do with 
a part of the school equipment with which the pupils literally come 
in daily contact. The slope of the roof may have some effect upon 
the wear of the roofing, the outside color of the house may add to or 
detract from the attractiveness of the general appearance, but these 
considerations are small when compared to over strained nerves, 
mis-shapen bones and permanent deformities caused by improper 
seats. 




From "School Hygiene," Courtesy The Macmillan Company., Publishers. 
The above picture shows an adjustable desk improperly adjusted. The 
chair is too high, lifting thei boy's heels from the floor; the height 
of the desk throws his arms uncomfortably high and makes an im- 
proper angle for the eyes. 



School Architecture. 



89 



Some Bad Conditions. — Although most of the 
schools in West Virginia are supplied with pat- 
ent seats, there are vet some that have the old, 
clumsy, home-made seats and desks. The writer 
has seen within the last year, rural school houses 
furnished with nothing but long, plain, home- 
made benches with no backs. On each of these 
seats were about half a dozen pupils, some large 
ones with no room for their long legs, and some 
small ones, whose feet were dangling in the air. 
A glance at a row of. such pupils bent over in 
rainbow-fashion with books in their laps excites 
a visitor's pity for the children and wonder that 
the eomro unity would be content with such con- 
ditions. 




From 



School 



niene " Courtesy The 
Macmillan Compa- 
ny, Publishers. 
A pic+ure showing 
th«. effect of impro- 
' per posture. 

Where such conditions exist and lack of funds will not permit 
the board of education to buy new seats, the teacher should rise 
to the occasion. If he or she is enthusiastic the large boys and 
probably some patrons can be induced to help put on back rests, 
saw off seats that are too high and put blocks under ones too low. 
Many teachers read books and inquire at institutes to find out how 
to secure order and cooperation, when sensible, vigorous dealing 
with such situations as described above will win the love of the 
pupils and the confidence of the patrons. 



Qualities to Consider When Buying Desks. 

The Pupils. — Boards of education and teachers should ever re- 
member that the child is the first and final consideration in all 
school matters. Before placing an order for desks a careful study 
of the size of the children for whom the desks are intended should 
be made. Of course pupils shift from year to year but an order 
for a third grade room, based upon actual measurements of the 
children found in that room now, will likely fit the needs of the 
children promoted to such room. The mistake of supposing that 
children of the same grade are the same size is often made. School 
statistics show that children of the same school grade vary several 



90 



School Architecture. 



years in age and that children of the same age vary as much as 
eight inches in height. Thus it will be seen that the seats for any 
grade must represent great variety of sizes. 

//< ight of Scats. — This should be determined by the distance from 
the heel to the underside of the angle at the knee. When the pupil 
sits on the seat with his feet squarely on the floor the angle at the 
knee should be a right angle, in other words, the upper part of 
the leg should be about parallel with the floor. A seat that is too 
high may injure the soft thigh bones in little children or cause 




The Logan Adjustable School Desk. 

Manufactured by the W. Ya. School Furniture Co., Logan, W. Va. 

These desks and chairs can be easily adjusted to any height to suit the 
pupil, therefore giving the pupil an upright and healthful position 
at all times. 



School Architecture. 



91 



weariness and nervousness by pressing too hard on the underside 
of the leg. A seat that is too low throws the body in an uncom- 
fortable, awkward position, especially when the pupil leans for- 
ward to write or do other work. Adjustable chairs are very desir- 
able if funds and space make possible their use. As stated above, 
boxes and foot rests should be used if seats are too high and blocks 
should be placed under those too low. 

Other Qualities of Seats.— The seat should be fastened with very 
strong, simple, noiseless hinges and should be so arranged as to 
eliminate much opening between back and seat. The curve in the 




The Logan Automatic School Desk. 
Manufactured by the W. Va. School Furniture Co., Logan, W. Va. 
This desk is so constructed mechanically as to be noiseless and automat- 
ic, the back curved to fit the back of the student, and is sanitary in 
every respect. 



92 



School Architecture. 



bottom of the seat should not be more than an inch to one and one- 
half inches deep. Single seats should be just wide enough for 
comfort and to prevent moving back and forth, as too much room 
will allow pupils to take injurious positions at desk. In inspecting 
a seat with a view to purchasing, note should be taken to see that 
the curve in the back fits the natural position of the spinal column. 
When chairs are purchased they should have an adjustable back 
rest. 

The Desk. — The desk should be strong and plain with as much 
slope as safety to articles left upon it will permit. AVhen working 
at the desk the pupil should view the work at a right angle. Desks 
that are too level and too high cause children to look obliquely at 
work and thus injure their eyes. The desk should be high enough 
to prevent stooping which curves the spine and cramps the vital 
organs, and low enough to allow the arm to rest upon the desk in 
a natural position with the elbow not more than 5 or 6 inches 
from the body. 

Color. — If the school room is properly finished the desks should 
suit the color scheme. Extreme or bright colors should be avoided. 
Desks should not have a gloss finish as the reflection from such a 
surface injures the eyes. The color should be restful and the 
finish dull. 

How to Place Seats. 

Aisles. — There should be 
sufficient space between the 
seats and walls to allow pu- 
pils to pass each other 
without difficulty. Con- 
siderable vacant space for 
recitations, and tables, 
charts, and other appara- 
tus should be left in front 
of room. This applies 
especially to primary 
rooms. The aisles between 
the seats should be made as 
wide as conditions will per- 
mit. 




From "School Hygiene." Courtesy The Macmil- 
lan Company, Publishers. 

Adjustable desk and chair placed so as to 
leave plus distance between them, as shown 
by dotted lines. Unless the desk is adjusta- 
ble back and forth plus distance should be 
avoided. 



School Architecture. 



93 



Position of Seats. — A chalk line should be used to aid in plac- 
ing seats in straight lines. The seat and the desk should be far! 
enough apart to allow the child to take the seat or stand in front 
of it with ease. Accompanying cuts show the improper and proper 
relative positions of seat 
and desk. Adjustable desks 
are preferable, but as long 
as others must be used, 
the edge of the desk 
should overlap the front 
of seat about one to two 
inches as shown in picture. 
Light should come from 
left and rear of pupils. 

Space Required. — Au- 
thorities agree that the to- 
tal floor space should be 
sufficient to allow at least 
15 square ft. of floor and 
200 cu. feet of air space 
to each pupil. 




From "School Hygiene." Courtesy The Macmil- 
lan Company, Publishers 

An adjustable desk and chair in position to 
show 'minus distance as indicated by the dot- 
ted lines. This is about the correct position 
for non-adjustable seats. Note the adjust- 
able back rest on the chair. 



WATER-CLOSETS IN RURAL SCHOOLS. 



At last, people are beginning to 
understand that all of education 
does not come from books. Sur- 
roundings may do much for or' 
against the kind of education 
which results in proper habits 
and good character. Directly 
opposed to the efforts of teachers 
and books for health, purity and 
decency is the average filthy 
water-closet for rural schools. 




Courtesy Ohio Agricultural College. 

There are several such closets as 
this in West Virginia. This is used 
by both sexes. It is a reproach 1 upon 
common decency and should be pre- 
vented by law. 



94 



School Architecture. 



State Superintendent, Edward Hyatt, of California, speaks the 
plain truth when he says, "And look once more; Don't you know 
some school water-closet which you are ashamed to enter? There 
the floors are wet and filthy, the air polluted, the walls putrid 



c® 


> 

a © 


J 


$ 


§ er? 


ft 


S 


a 


5 


C3 




lb ^ 
P 


« 


J 


3 © 




a 


S? $ 




§> 


Gfl <W) 




© 


|W) 




1> 






§> 






Q 







I 




■•S J 


. o 




t * 


r 


£ r 


o 


3 


1 






j 


o 




u 


o 


D 


z 




"!! o 


G 


o 


» ? 


Br 




E. £ 


IT 



o 


3 




e? 








JillCJ >*<Ci 




•»° SJHSJ/ 


1 





















<*! 


i i 
■1 










iPI 










































l' 


I 1 1 i 




with every obscene device that can be made with knife, and pencil, 
and chalk? That's immorality. It's bad, bad for the modesty and 
morals of the little children who must frequent them. Would you 
dismiss all this with a shrug, as something hallowed by time and en- 



School Architecture. 



95 



cleared by tradition as a necessary feature of the American rural 
school? But it isn't a necessary feature. People don't want their 
children raised in such conditions," These conditions are not 
found in any good home and why should the minds of children 
from such homes be besmirched with such filth. Parents and 
school officers are willing to buy books containing wholesome 
thoughts and to pay teachers to point the children in the right di- 
rection and at he same time, they silently agree to maintain in a 
cosnspicuous place a water-closet that teaches and points in the 
opposite direction. 




Courtesy O. J. Kern, author of "Among Country Schools." 

Location of Closets. — The water-closets for boys and girls should 
be, if possible, on opposite sides of the lot. The immediate prem- 
ises about each should be considered private ground for the sex for 
which intended. The drainage should be carefully considered 
when locating a water-closet. 

Means of Making Water-Closets More Private. — When possible 
these buildings should be placed behind a rise in the ground or 
in a clump of trees or bushes. If exposed by the nature of the 



96 



School Architecture. 




Courtesy O. J. Kern, author of "Among Country Schools." 
Outbuilding Shielded By Vixes. 

situation they should be surrounded by a high solid board fence, 
lattice-work, or vines. The accompanying pictures $\iow what is 
being done in many schools. 

Building and Material. — The building should be large enough 
to accommodate four or five children at once. Where it is intend- 
ed for a large school, the boys' water-closet should be partitioned, 
one end for small boys and one for large boys. The outside finish 
should be fully as complete and attractive as that of the school 
house. The walls inside should be covered with rough concrete, 
stone color, or corrugated sheet-iron well painted in a medium dark 
color. If these cannot be provided, medium dark paint or paper 
should be applied as often as required to keep walls free from 
obscene pictures and language. 

The Seat and Vault. — County Superintendent, Roy "W. Cloud, 
of San Mateo County, California, says, "The seat should be built 
over a large box partly rilled with loose earth and supplied with 
stout wheels. The equipment of the building would be the school 
ash can or box (ashes, lime, or dry dirt may be used) and an iron 
shovel. The children should be instructed to spread a liberal 
shovelful of ashes (lime or dirt) over the excrescence." From Sup- 
erintendent Rosier 's article we quote, "The closet should not be 



School Architecture. 97 



located so that water in rainy season will drain from it on to the 
ground and pollute the soil. It should be constructed with the 
idea constantly in mind that it may be the abiding place of the 
most deadly enemies of the community. This means that it should 
be securely closed in every way. There should be a vault built of 
stone and cement so that the surrrounding soil cannot be contami- 
nated. This vault should be cleaned three or four times a year. 
The contents should be taken far from the building and scattered 
on ground where they will be exposed to the sun which is the best 
destroyer of disease germs. There is also what is called the 
"pail system." By this plan galvanized iron pails are placed in 
the vault, and removed at regular intervals, and replaced by oth- 
ers. The openings in the closets should be covered, and the entire 
space around the vault made so tight that flies cannot enter. For 
it is recognized now that the fly is the most common carrier of 
disease germs. School boards should furnish as a part of their 
regular supplies an abundant quantity of lime and fine dry earth 
which should be used freely each day in the closet. In many sec- 
tions wood ashes can be more easily secured, and they are better 
than lime. For the preservation of health among school chil- 
dren, the school closet should receive first consideration. School 
authorities in many localities are criminally negligent in this mat- 
ter. For the sake of moral decency, the approach and entrance to 
the closet should be shielded from public view by screens." 

The Teacher. — After all we must look to the teacher to keep all 
in decency and order about the school. No amount of equipment 
is worth much in the hands of a weak, indifferent teacher. On 
the other hand, the efficient, energetic teacher will bring about re- 
spectibility and order under the most unfavorable conditions. 
The school premises photograph the teacher. 



PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR A ONE ROOM SCHOOL 
BUILDING, BARBOUR COUNTY. 

) 
By A. F. Shroycr, County Supt. 

(Note: — As these specifications have not been revised, it is not 
claimed that they are perfect in all respects. They are inserted 
here as a fair sample of the proper form for similar specifications.) 



98 School Architecture. 

House. — House to be 32 feet long and 24 feet wide. 12 foot story 
in the clear. 

Foundation.- — Foundation to be of solid range-ruble wall with 
four air vents — two on each side. Vents to be 8 inches x 15 inches, 
and the same to have iron gratings. The vents to be 11 feet from 
the corner. The foundation trench to be dug two feet deep, and the 
same to be knapped full of stone upon which the wall is to be built. 
Top of wall is to be 12 inches wide. No part must be less than 18 
inches above the ground. A row of pillars must be placed in center 
of building running from one end of the building to the other; and 
the same to be six feet apart. All pillars are to be 12 x 12 inches 
at top, and bedded in the same way as wall. Porch to have three 
pillars and to be placed one at each corner and one-half way between 
the corners. To be bedded in the same way as others and to be the 
same size. 

Sills. — All sills to be 8 x 8 inches of good sound oak; half lapped 
at all connections and well fastened. The center sill running 
through the building must be well connected with wall sills. 

Bottom Joist. — Bottom joist to be of good sound oak, and 16 
inches off center. Size 2 x 10 inches. Must be bridged half way 
from wall to center, with 1x3 inch lumber. 

Top Joist. — To be 2 x 6 inches, 16 inches off center. Double 
joist where rlue is built 2 x 10 inches. All joists to be well spiked. 

Studding. — Studding to be 2 x 4 inches, good poplar or pine. 
Space 16 inches on center and to be braced at each corner by 
standing and hanging braces with a three foot run. All windows 
and doors to be double studded. 

Plate. — Plate around the top to be 2 x 4 inches, doubled and 
skipped jointed. 

Rafters. — Rafters to be 2 x 6 inches, and roof to have six inch 
fall to the foot. Rafters to be tied by collar beam with l 1 /^ x 4 inch 
lumber, to be placed one-third of the distance from plate to comb. 
Joist to be tied to collar beam, with IVi x 4 inch lumber — 8 feet 
from wall. 



School Architecture. 99 

Weatherboarding.—We&therbogLr&mg to be of first grade poplar 
6 inches wide. Not less than % inches thick after being dressed, 
patent siding, or y 2 inch thick, old fashioned lap siding. 

Roof. — Roof to be sheeted solidly with 1 inch sound lumber, and 
to be covered with a good grade "I-C" tin. Roof to have two coats 
of good paint. Five days allowed for first coat to dry. Roof must 
be well fastened. 

Windows. — Six large windows and same to be located as shown 
in floor plan. Windows to be 3 feet and 6 inches from floor to top 
of stool. Six windows to be hung by weights and a good lock placed 
on each window. They are to be 4 light windows and to be filled 
with double strength "A" glass 16 x 40. Transom over main 
entrance 16 x 36 inches. Same to be reversible. 

Doors. — Doors to be placed as indicated in floor plan. Doors to 
be of best grade of pine. The front door and library door to be 
3x7 feet, 1 3 A inches thick with a good substantial mortise lock and 
4x4 inch hinges. Same to open inward. Two cloak room doors 
to be 2y 2 x 6y 2 feet but same are to be omitted but places finished 
for doors. 

Floor. — Floor to be of good sound oak, clear of worm holes, cracks 
and knots. Dressed and matched not over three inches wide. Must 
not be less than % inches thick after being dressed. All flooring 
is to be given two good coats of regular floor oil. 

Ceiling. — To be of first class poplar or first class pine. Must not 
be over three inches wide. Must be well matched and dressed. 
Ceiling to be not less than % inches thick after being dressed. All 
joints must be broken on studding and joist. Room must be ceiled 
behind black board same as other parts. 

Casing. — Windows and doors are to be cased in workmanlike 
manner with first class poplar casing on outside and on inside with 
first class oak or with first class poplar casing. 

Baseboard. — Baseboard to be 10 inches wide around all walls. 
Top of ceiling to be finished Avith quarter round. 



100 School Architecture. 

Flue. — One good 6 brick flue to be built according to floor plans 
for stove. Well plastered and made perfectly safe. Must be built 
on 7 inch flue base, extending below ceiling. Flue to extend 3 feet 
above roof. Top to be arched and a 2 inch projection 8 inches from 
the top of square. 

Cornice and Projections. — There must be a 16 inch cornice. Roof 
to project 16 inches beyond gable. 

Condition of Lumber.— All flooring, weatherboarding, casing 
and ceiling to be well seasoned and well dressed. All frame timber 
to have been on stick at least 60 days, except sills. 

Partition. — All partitions to be framed similar to outer walls and 
same kind of material to be used. All partitions to be ceiled on 
both sides. 

Cloak Room. — Cloak room to be four feet wide on inside, to be 
finished same as room. 4 dozen hat hooks to be placed on wall in 
cloak room as indicated in plans. Hooks to be fastened in strips 
fastened to walls. 4 shelves of good dressed lumber must be placed 
in cloak room as indicated in plans. Same to be used for dinner 
buckets. Shelves to be painted. 

Library Boom. — Five shelves to be placed across end of room and 
on one side as indicated. Same to be finished as other rooms. 

Painting of House. — The outside is to be painted with three 
heavy coats of pure linseed oil and white lead well mixed, or its 
equivalent. Time must be allowed for each coat to dry before the 
next coat is put on. The inside, that is, all rooms, is to be painted 
with two good heavy coats to cover up the wood. Color to be as 
selected by board of education and county superintendent. 

Blackboard. — A 20 foot slate blackboard is to be placed in the 
room as indicated. Must be placed 2 feet and 8 inches above the 
floor. A three inch chalk tray must be provided. The best quality 
of slate is to be used and must be 4 feet wide. No cracked slate is 
to be used. 

Scuttle Hole. — The scuttle hole in ceiling just over entrance, 



School Architecture. 101 

15 x 20 inches. Trap door or lid must be provided and so arranged 
that the place will not be noticed. A good air vent must be placed 
in each end of the building. 

Porch. — The porch to be of proper height in front and to be 6 feet 
wide and 8 feet long, that is 4 feet from center of door each way. 
To be roofed with same kind of roofing as house, and floor to be of 
same grade as house floor, and to be given three coats of good floor 
oil ; painted white three coats, supported by two good columns well 
fastened to the floor. Good stone steps must be provided at porch 
and same to be not less than 4 feet in length. Porch to be latticed 
between ground and flooring. 

Kind of Work. — All work is to be done in a neat, substantial and 
workmanlike manner, subject to the inspection and approval of the 
board of education of Glade District. 

All material must be of kind specified and no changes can be 
made in plans and specifications without a written permission from 
board of education of Glade District. 
Plans and specifications approved by me, August 31, 1909. 

A. F. Shroyer 
County Superintendent. 

The following extracts are taken from ' ' Specifications for a One- 
Room Frame School Building" published and used by the state of 
"Wisconsin. These paragraphs are selected because they cover some 
important points and offer valuable suggestions for complete speci- 
fications : 

Dimensions : In all cases where drawings are figured, such figures 
must be taken as the dimensions given without reference to what 
the contractor finds the drawing may measure on the scale. 

Should any drawing or figure have been omitted by the archi- 
tect necessary to a perfect understanding of the plans and speci- 
fications, the contractor must infarm the board of education or 
county superintendent, and will be liable for all mistakes arising 
from such neglect. 

Extra Work : Should any extra work be necessary, the cost of 
the same shall be mutually agreed upon by the owner and con- 
tractor before such work is begun, otherwise no extras will be al- 
lowed. 



102 School Architecture. 

Concrete: Concrete for footings to be made as follows: 
1 part Portland cement, 
3 parts sharp sand, 
5 parts crushed stone, 
properly mixed and put down very soft. Stones contained in sand 
to be counted as stone. 

Lathing : All lath used for the building to be good No. 1 hemlock 
lath % in.xlVi in., with 4 nailings with 3-d nails. In lathing care 
must be taken to break the joints at least every 18 inches. There 
must not be any lathing the angles from one room to another. All 
corners must be solid before lathing. Shellac all knots before plast- 
ering. 

Plastering : All jambs and angles must be made plumb and 
square, and all corners and angles true. 

All parts of 1st story will be lathed as above and plastered with 
two good coats of strictly first quality Wall Plaster % in. thick. 
The last coat to be the best style of felt float sand finish. 

Back Plastering — Lathing: All outside walls to be lathed hori- 
zontally, between the studding, to strips put on by the carpenter 
from floor to plate at ceiling; also lath all ceilings in same manner. 
Plaster all walls and ceilings above mentioned with one heavy 
coat of strictly first quality Wall Plaster, *4 in. thick. 

General Carpenter Work : All timber and lumber used in the 
construction of this building and finishing thereof, to be thorough- 
ly seasoned, free from defects that impair its strength or appear- 
ance, in all cases fit for the purposes intended. 

All work to be done in a substantial and workmanlike manner, 
frame work straight, plumb and true, braced where necessary. 
1 Joists, Studding, Etc. : All joists to be in one length. 

First story joists 2 in.xlO in. — 16 in. centers. 

Ceiling joists 2 in.x 8 in. — 16 in. centers. 

Ceiling joists over hall 2 in.x 6 in. — 16 in. centers. 

Rafters 2 in.x 6 in. — 16 in. centers. 

Hip rafters 2 in.x 8 in. 

Outside studding 2 in.x 6 in. — 16 in. centers. 

Inside studding 2 in.x6 in. & 4 in. — 16 in. centers. 

Ceiling joists to be hung to rafters at center by 1 in.x6 in. 
boards, firmly nailed to joists and rafters. 

Sill Plates : Plates to be 2 in.x8 in. let in flush with top of joists 
with a 2 in.x6 in. spiked on top to receive studs. 



School Architecture. 103 

Spike short joists at right angles to joists running parallel with 
walls. 

Boof : Construct the roofs as shown by plans. Board the same 
with dry dressed hemlock boards, laid close and nailed at each bear- 
ing with two 10-d nails. 

Floors : The entire first story floor shall be double ; the lining 
floor of dressed hemlock boards, laid diagonally with joints cut on 
the joists and nailed with 10-d nails at every bearing. 

The finishing floor to be clear maple flooring % in.x2 1 / 4 in. over 
blind floor, properly nailed, and not to be laid until all inside fin- 
ishing is done, and until painter has applied one coat on all work ; 
then to be laid, made perfectly smooth and clean, and covered en- 
tirely with one layer of strawboard. 

Window Details : Check rail for all windows to be 1% in. high. 

Window stops wide enough to cover joint of frame and casing. 

1% in. thick outside casings. 

Bars for margin light windows to be 5-16 in. thick between glass. 

Sash 1% in. thick; make them to run smoothly and close in the 
frames at the completion of the building. 

Single sash arranged to swing open. 

Transoms over doors hung by butts and provided with transom 
lifts. 

Inside Finish: "Wainscoting in the class room, hall and en- 
trance to be 4 ft. in. high ; in wardrobes 5 ft. in. high. 

Wardrobes : Provide wardrobes with shelves as shown; teacher's 
closet to be finished up with one 12 in. wide shelf, and a 7 / 8 in.x4 in. 
bevel strip 5 ft. 8 in. from floor to top of strip, extending around 
the room with suitable clothes hooks every 8 inches. Hooks in 
boy's and girl's wardrobes placed 4 ft. high and 8 in. apart. Hooks 
will be furnished with hardware. 

Outside Painting : Paint the entire outside of the building 
(shingles of roof excluded), finish woodwork and metal work two 
good coats of paint, of pure linseed oil and pure white lead, proper- 
ly mixed and well applied to the building, except where otherwise 
indicated; including ridge boards. Colors to be selected by the 
owner. First coat to be clear white lead and oil. All nail holes and 
cracks to be puttied in best manner. 

All windows will have storm sash; to be painted two coats of 
paint. 

Painting Walls : All plastered walls and ceiling in entire first 



104 School Architecture. 

story shall be painted with three good coats of oil paint in colors 
as will be selected. 

Fresh Air Intake: Build fresh air intake 18 in. in diameter of 
No. 26 galvanized iron with damper to same near outside wall and 
properly connected with furnace. Fresh air inlet to have heavy 
wire mesh on the outside of same. 

Connect furnace to smoke stack with a galvanized iron smoke 
pipe, provided with a regulating cut off check damper. 



School 
Architecture 



sa^ 




STATE of WEST VIRGINIA 

DEPARTMENT of FREE SCHOOLS 

CHARLESTON 



HEHOHB 



9K3 



LB D Ml 



